20+ weeks and NO eggs ? I NOW HAVE EGGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tim in Pa.]

Being this is my first mini flock and from what I read on this site I was hoping I would start seeing some eggs after 20 weeks And to my disappointment still no eggs (the wife has Christmas baking to do after all) So is it because the onset of winter? Will I get any at all in the winter or will I have to go out and squeeze them as the Mrs. has told me to do for them to plop out an egg
They are RR,W rocks, black austrlorpes and buff orp.
So can we expect an egg or two before the spring???? I hope! Is there anything I can do to help things along?

Thanks,Tim

 

[Comet Mum]

All I can say is, I feel your pain! My girls started laying at about 29 weeks (brown sex links). I have 4 pullets and I think only one, maybe two are laying. It's been just 1 week, and I've collected 6 eggs. So patience...

 

[gritsar]

Nothing you can do but use patience. Twenty weeks is a very loose rule of thumb. Some of my girls started laying at 19 weeks and a few are still not laying at 32 weeks! It's very much an individual thing. They'll lay when their bodies are mature enough.
On the bright side, does your wife like to bake alot? If so, then you have a great excuse to add some ducks to your poultry collection. Duck eggs are superior for baked goods.

Yes, I'm enabling you.

 

[Sylvie]

Welcome to the waiting for the first egg club, lol!

21 weeks here but according to some BYC posters mine are displaying signs of getting close to laying.
Maybe like "a watched pot never boils" a watched pullet never lays. I dunno, I'll grasp at any cliche at this point!

 

[Mahonri]

My first egg came on the day the girls turned 20 weeks.... but most didn't start laying until about 25 to 26 weeks. I think that I still have a few that haven't laid an egg yet and they will probably end up in stew... .soon.

 

[rebecca10782]

I am in the same situation, ours is 25 weeks and she hasn't acted like she is going to lay at all

I said the same thing the other day that I was going to try to squezze her and maybye something would come out

 

[eggchel]

Have their combs started to turn dark red? That is a sign that their hormones are increasing and that they will start laying soon.


Chel

 

[greyfields]

Do you have lights on them? They're not going to pop into laying until the days are much longer.

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Squeezing them alone will not EVER work. You have to squeeze then shake up and down. Repeat continuously until they lay an egg. You may have to do this for several weeks but it WILL work.

 

[rebecca10782]

Oh God, poor birdie!

You should put up a disclaimer "Do not try this at home."