28 weeks...still waiting on some, even a leghorn!

[Acre4Me]

So, we have 12 hens., hatched Feb 28. Fed chicken feed. Large run, lots of shade and water. occasional grass range in a small area. We also have 2 roosters.

3 Dark Brown Leghorn: as far as we can tell, maybe 2 are laying. We seem to get one white egg about every other day, sometime a cream egg too.

1 Black Jersey Giant. Face and comb just getting pink/slightly red. Till recently she was all black, including comb! So, it will be awhile.

3 BA: all have layed eggs, but one is broody and just received baby chicks, another is toying with being broody.

2 EE: both lay green eggs

1 SLW: seems to be laying

2BR: also seem to be laying and are they ever grumpy in that nest box...reach in at your own risk! But they are not broody, they do leave the nest on their own.

However, we are only getting max 6 eggs a day, sometimes 4. We can say we should have 10 layers at this point (excluding broody and the BJG). What are your thoughts on the non-laying DBL? And the fact that the DBLs are not laying much anyway.

No hidden nests. Run is easy to see everywhere.

The roosters are Black Jersey Giant and Black Australorp. The BA is the head honcho and the BJG stays out of his way generally, but will be in close proximity to the BA at times and has started to try to mate the hens without attracting the attention of the BA rooster, but not sure how “successful” he’s been. The BA rooster seems to pick on at least one DBL, but we do know they are all eating. The BA rooster seems to monitor one of the feed stations and will chase some hens away, but there is a second feed station available and he does not seem to patrol that one.

So at this age, I am surprised our egg yields seem low.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I've never had DBL but, if I remember correctly, they are not as prolific a layer as a White Leghorn. Average for them would be around 3 eggs per week, compared to W Leghorn that likely lay everyday (I know mine has laid an egg every single day for over a year).

Your pullets are still fairly young and daylight hours are declining as well. Production may pick up a bit in spring.

Not all breeds lay eggs everyday. Even in their "hayday" my BR only average around 5-6eggs a week. SLW around 4-5, BA around 4-5.
If your goal is egg production, then consider some hybrids like Golden Comets, ISA Browns and/or White Leghorns, but these girls can burn out a bit more quickly. Plan on getting more every year and cull those that are not productive. All the breeds that you have except for the EE's are considered "heritage", while they are good layers, if you want more eggs, then study up on other breeds.

Having 2 cockerels may be working right now, but if they are all confined to a run, then you may want to consider separating one to see if that reduces conflict within the flock. I find it odd that a male is monitoring a food station and chasing pullets away - the only thing I can think of is he is immature or he is threatened by the other male and is attempting to control "something".

 

[9SpiceyChickens]

Something called over mating is happening. The roos might be fine now but not in the future. The average rule is 1 roo for every 10(ish) hens. The BA seems to be picking on the hens, chasing them, mating, and not being a very good roo. I personally would keep the BJG but no mater what you'll have to get rid of one of them

 

[Acre4Me]

I've never had DBL but, if I remember correctly, they are not as prolific a layer as a White Leghorn. Average for them would be around 3 eggs per week, compared to W Leghorn that likely lay everyday (I know mine has laid an egg every single day for over a year).

Your pullets are still fairly young and daylight hours are declining as well. Production may pick up a bit in spring.

Not all breeds lay eggs everyday. Even in their "hayday" my BR only average around 5-6eggs a week. SLW around 4-5, BA around 4-5.
If your goal is egg production, then consider some hybrids like Golden Comets, ISA Browns and/or White Leghorns, but these girls can burn out a bit more quickly. Plan on getting more every year and cull those that are not productive. All the breeds that you have except for the EE's are considered "heritage", while they are good layers, if you want more eggs, then study up on other breeds.

Having 2 cockerels may be working right now, but if they are all confined to a run, then you may want to consider separating one to see if that reduces conflict within the flock. I find it odd that a male is monitoring a food station and chasing pullets away - the only thing I can think of is he is immature or he is threatened by the other male and is attempting to control "something".

Having eggs is great, but I'm ok with moderate layers (4-5 a week), however, at 28 weeks, I am surprised by the lack of eggs on a daily basis (as compared to the number of hens) since 4 eggs from 10 layers on a regular basis seems low, overall.

Regarding the males, we had 5 (due to mis-identified "pullet" and straight run) so we have culled out the 3 we did not want, keeping the most promising 2 males. However, the BA male has some mild (so far) human aggression, so his time might be limited. I am trying to wait out the adolescent phase to see how they will be as over 1 yo roosters. The BJG seems mild mannered but is maturing slower than the BA, so this may change, but as a breed they tend to be mild mannered. The BJG is a very large bird...and he is very tall too, so I am not sure how that will play out with the flock long term. These 2 males do not fight with each other, they don't even stare each other down. The run is big enough that they get away from each other pretty easily - it is 500 sqft, with some variation where they can get out of sight from each other.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

At 28weeks they all may not be laying yet.