20 weeks and still no sign of laying

kwestley

In the Brooder
6 Years
Apr 14, 2013
69
3
41
I have 8 hens and they are 20 weeks old. This is my first year of raising chickens, so I am still learning about them! I have two black Sexlink, two buff Orpington, two barred rock, one brahma, and one Easter egger.
The black sexlinks have big red comb and wattles. The barred rocks have small pink comb and no wattles. The buffs and brahma have very small comb. For the Easter egger, I couldn't see any comb at all!!!! Maybe They are not mature yet??
 
It often take 6+ months for a hen to start laying. My EE girl waited 8 1/2 months! Hens will normally redden up and develop more in the comb area when close to laying, while cockerels will normally get red combs and more comb/wattle development sooner.
 
It is hard waiting for that first egg isn't it, it does sound like some of yours aren't that far off. Hens mature at different rates, and 20 weeks is not that far along. Some of your girls are slower maturing breeds and will take a little longer than average. The black sex links are mixes bred for egg laying, so it is not surprising they would be among the first to get started, but they are a bigger bird than the reds usually and do start a little later.
 
I have 8 hens and they are 20 weeks old. This is my first year of raising chickens, so I am still learning about them! I have two black Sexlink, two buff Orpington, two barred rock, one brahma, and one Easter egger.
The black sexlinks have big red comb and wattles. The barred rocks have small pink comb and no wattles. The buffs and brahma have very small comb. For the Easter egger, I couldn't see any comb at all!!!! Maybe They are not mature yet??



The average for a pullet to start laying is about 22 to 24 weeks.

Your Black Sex Links will probably start laying very soon. The Brahma will probably be the last one to start laying.
 
It is hard waiting for that first egg isn't it, it does sound like some of yours aren't that far off. Hens mature at different rates, and 20 weeks is not that far along. Some of your girls are slower maturing breeds and will take a little longer than average. The black sex links are mixes bred for egg laying, so it is not surprising they would be among the first to get started, but they are a bigger bird than the reds usually and do start a little later.


The APA standard of perfection states that Rhode Island Reds are: Cock 8 ½ Lbs; Hens 6 ½ pounds; Cockerels 7 ½ pounds; Pullets 5 ½ pounds

There is no standard for Sex Links, since they are not a breed. So I will use the description from a hatchery for Black Sex Link chickens.
http://www.cacklehatchery.com/blacksexlinkpage.html

Rooster 8-9 lbs; hen 6-7 lbs; cockerel 8 lbs; and pullet 6 lbs.


They are pretty close to the same size. When you said reds, did you mean Rhode Island Reds?

And everything I read states that the Sex Links start laying earlier than average.
 
Sorry for the confusion. meant red sex links, the ones I have had (usually the ones they call Red Stars, Golden Comets etc) are generally smaller than the black sex links. It has been my experience that the red sex links will lay a little sooner than the black sex links, on average.
 
Sorry for the confusion. meant red sex links, the ones I have had (usually the ones they call Red Stars, Golden Comets etc) are generally smaller than the black sex links. It has been my experience that the red sex links will lay a little sooner than the black sex links, on average.


Oh, I see.

I suppose there are a lot of variations when we are talking about crosses.
 
It's hard to wait for the first egg!!! Surprisingly, I've been doing pretty well by not thinking about that eggs all the time!! ;) It's just when you do all the hard work and get no rewards, it starts to get tiring!!! Oh well, I should know better not to hold my breath!!!
 

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