30 weeks and still no eggs!

[echipping]

We live in Utah and my girls are now 30 weeks old and they still are not laying! I am new to raising chickens this year but with what I have read at least one should be laying by now or I am doing something wrong. In my flock we have a Giant Blue Cochin, Americana , Buff Orpington , Silkie Bantam, and a Light Brahma . I know that Bantams take longer but from what I've read the others start sooner. They are on a 16% protein scratch (they hated the pellets) that I mix half and half with the grower starter mix. I've read mixed reviews on how long to keep them on the grower starter so I started mixing it with the protein at 20 weeks. They are free range a few days a week and get all sorts of table scraps. I know fall is here and I am a tad worried they wont start laying now till next year! Is there anything else I can do to encourage them?

 

[Koodra]

I have 3 and 2/3 are laying all hatched in Mid March. The holdout is a Blue Laced Red Wyandotte.
So March, April, May, June, July, August (production red started 8/4), September (french copper marans started 16th), October.
So I am at 28 weeks now for the Blue Laced Red Wyandotte.

I did some other research on here and under "Interesting facts about Chickens and Eggs" that there are cases where a Pullet may never lay due to her reproductive tract being too narrow. I am hoping this is not the case with either of out hens.

I don't know how long the longest case of waiting went on for, but I am giving Padme until either Christmas or her birthday to lay and if she isn't up to the task, she is dinner and I'm getting me a Leghorn instead.

However, when my Production Red and Marans were getting ready to lay there was a LOT of interest in the hen house.
I put golf balls, ping pong balls and fake eggs in one of the nesting boxes and they got the hint. Padmé my blue laced red is interested in the hen house and goes in the henhouse to provide moral support for her flockmates. It could be anyday now.

But the balls in the nest did provide a lot of interest and the first eggs were laid right alongside those balls.


Best of luck to both of us and our birds.

 

[Julia62]

We have 4 hens. Two have been laying for about 6 weeks now (a white Leghorn and a Red Comet/Production Red) and my 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes have not layed yet and they are 28 weeks old. They are all about the same age. The SLW have nice waddles now, but only slight combs, but I think that's the breed. We keep waiting...we need more than 2 eggs a day!