19 and a half weeks old and still no eggs :( egg countdown anyone??

[fallenleader]

3 a day now it seems. and it looks like they may be getting larger. <--the eggs

 

[Lacy Blues]

My girls layed their first eggs right under the feeder...

I also keep oyster shell in a seperate feeder and it seems that they don't eat a whole lot of it. I filled it up a month ago and it has barely been touched... It's right next to the regular feeder too...

They'll eat it when they need it. One day you'll turn around and it will be almost gone!

 

[gaitngirl]

My original crew from last year (4 Isa Browns and 3 Black Sex Links) started laying at 16 and 17 weeks of age and have been stellar producers until this hot, weird summer.

I have 3 EE's that are about 18 - 19 weeks old now and they won't even look at the nest boxes. No egg songs, no squatting, nothing. I also have ducks this year - they don't start laying until 7 or 8 mos. of age .

 

[gaitngirl]

I used the ceramic eggs with my hens - one of them started breaking an egg now and again or they were getting stepped on and broken. Not sure which as the eggs weren't eaten. I found some ceramic dummy eggs at the local Salvation Army of all places, lol! Ten cents each!!! 2 brown ones and 3 white ones. Well used, it looked like but I cleaned them up really well and what a difference they have made. All of the hens wanted to used just one box before - they would climb on top of another hen trying to lay and lay on top of her. Now they will spread out and use all of the boxes, so long as there is a dummy egg in it. No more broken eggs (unless I drop them).

 

[jkraze]

Our 6 Australorps were born March 10th. The first one just started laying July 17th, and we've had an egg every other day since. I wasn't sure if we had two laying until yesterday, when I found one on the ground and the other in the nest. Looks like I might need to "train" them with golf balls!

 

[Debs55]

myleghorns finally laided their first egg...i almost stepped on it! any idea how to get them to lay in the nest boxes?! Ive tried putting n egg in there

 

[macyllehub]

Great thread.

I have 23 pullets. 10 of them are 20-21 weeks old right now. 2 of my 3 sexlinks are laying eggs, but none of my other older ladies are interested in the slightest (2 black australorps, 3 RIR, 2 auracaunas). I have plans to rehab the coop to retrofit better in our barn with more space and more private nesting boxes, I just need to get to that this weekend. I have worried that my girls wouldn't go back to the coop/barn to lay because they are all completely free range without a run at all. They do go to the coop portion of our barn to sleep, but during the day pretty much do whatever they want.

I saw someone mention penning them up for a few days to get them to lay, what is the logic behind this? All of my older ladies have well developed combs/wattles, and I am pretty sure they did the laying song before laying for the first time but I haven't heard anything since then.

For now, our 1-2 eggs a day is so exciting!! I really do hope more start laying soon.

 

[fallenleader]

i don't know why, but my hens all seem to lay in the nesting box, all in the same corner of the community (never finished) nesting boxes.original plan was for 3 but never finished.

 

[Debs55]

some of mine lay in the boxes but others lay on the floor of the coop and i am tired of finding cracked eggs. they even ate one!!

 

[newduckie]

I have 20 something chickens that hatched in March. Would have toturn on the big PC to check the exact date. I have 8 Plymoth Barred Rock and two RIR and about a dozen Black Sex Links. Not sure sho is laying but I am up to three of them that are laying now. I saw one of the barred rocks on the nest for a couple of days before she layed finally. that was a week or so ago and she is getting pretty consistent. Another is laying on the floor under the nest boxes with my old hen. Today I got my FIRST ever fart egg. I have heard of them but never had one and it excited me like no other. I blew it out so I could keep it. all white, no yolk. hopefully within a couple weeks I will be getting a dozen a day,. I know I went to the chicken house at leat five or six times today to check. I also have my very last banem hen that has been broody FOREVER!!! She sat on golf balls for about two months and I would throw her out of the nest and I tried everything and could not break her from setting so I finally just gave her an egg and I checked it for the first time today. It is alive and kicking,, due to hatch Aug 1. Maybe then she will GET UP! I told my husband she was going to die right there on that golf ball... lol.