24 week old Red Sexlink and Black Australorp not laying.

[lilwanderer]

I hear these two types can lay as early as 16 weeks, if not they have usually started laying before 23 weeks at least. Mine are on layers feed and I've checked every possible place for eggs. What's the issue?

 

[nuthatched]

They're laying or close to laying by the looks of those combs. Have you done a pelvic check?

 

[lilwanderer]

They're laying or close to laying by the looks of those combs. Have you done a pelvic check?

Thats what i thought, I have two others of the same breed ( 2 of each ) and they have much pinker combs and they're smaller. So i figured at least these two should be laying by now. And no, I have not, how does that work?

 

[nuthatched]

Thats what i thought, I have two others of the same breed ( 2 of each ) and they have much pinker combs and they're smaller. So i figured at least these two should be laying by now. And no, I have not, how does that work?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

 

[lilwanderer]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

Oh alright, ill have to check that out then.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I personally trust the appearance of the vent more than any other check. If the vent is soft, moist, and pink she is laying or will be really soon. If the vent is tight and dry she is not laying. Once you see the difference it is obvious. Youi might check one of the others when you look at these to compare.

With combs and wattles that red there is a fair chance they are laying. A real common reason to think they are not laying is that they are hiding a nest on you. They can be really sneaky about hiding a nest in a small coop, let alone in a run or if they free range.

Another common reason, though not as common, is that something is eating the eggs. The typical critters in North America that take eggs without leaving any evidence are snakes, canines, or humans. It does not sound like a snake. A snake eats some eggs then disappears a few days to digest them before it comes back. If it is consistent it is not a snake. Canines like coyotes or a fox would probably be more interested in your chickens, probably not them. But a dog could eat eggs and not bother the chickens. The old timers called those dogs biscuit eaters. Does a dog have access?

A human doesn't necessarily mean a thief. There have been threads on here where it turned out to be someone who thought it made a good practical joke.

If the vent check shows they are laying, lock them in the coop or coop and run if you can and see if an egg shows up. If it does that would mean they are hiding a nest on you or you locked out an egg eating predator.

As most of us know, this wait can be really frustrating. Good luck!

 

[lilwanderer]

I personally trust the appearance of the vent more than any other check. If the vent is soft, moist, and pink she is laying or will be really soon. If the vent is tight and dry she is not laying. Once you see the difference it is obvious. Youi might check one of the others when you look at these to compare.

With combs and wattles that red there is a fair chance they are laying. A real common reason to think they are not laying is that they are hiding a nest on you. They can be really sneaky about hiding a nest in a small coop, let alone in a run or if they free range.

Another common reason, though not as common, is that something is eating the eggs. The typical critters in North America that take eggs without leaving any evidence are snakes, canines, or humans. It does not sound like a snake. A snake eats some eggs then disappears a few days to digest them before it comes back. If it is consistent it is not a snake. Canines like coyotes or a fox would probably be more interested in your chickens, probably not them. But a dog could eat eggs and not bother the chickens. The old timers called those dogs biscuit eaters. Does a dog have access?

A human doesn't necessarily mean a thief. There have been threads on here where it turned out to be someone who thought it made a good practical joke.

If the vent check shows they are laying, lock them in the coop or coop and run if you can and see if an egg shows up. If it does that would mean they are hiding a nest on you or you locked out an egg eating predator.

As most of us know, this wait can be really frustrating. Good luck!

i did a vent check on one of them and it is red and moist and is more than 2 fingers apart. Even though I've already checked all possible places for eggs, I'll see if i can lock them up.

 

[lilwanderer]

They didn't lay while they were locked up, but I found out one has being laying underneath the house which we blocked off yesterday. The other just started and laid her first two days ago. .

These ones were big, the red hen's.

A smaller egg, belonging to the black hen, even though she's huge. I believe they'll get bigger as she ages though.