34 week old Golden comets and no eggs

[trailhound]

Ha! I agree with the secret nest, because my comets had one and it took me a long time to find it. They were laying under the front porch steps. They started laying around 16 weeks and I also got a lot of double yolkers.

I hope I remember to check back for the update!
Andrea

 

[chickmill]

No eggs, they were in until 3 today!

 

[steffpeck]

Dumb question, but are you sure they are girls? 34 weeks is so old for comets to not be laying.

 

[LynneP]

There's an intermediate solution too, a fenced pen so they can be close to nest ing boxes before free-ranging. Do you have pics of your birds?

What percentage of protein is in their laying ration? I'm wondering if they're stuffing themselves on sugary fruit or something and not eating enough protein to lay. No eggs in the yard, maybe a large batch under a shed or in bushes?

 

[chickmill]

Still no eggs....... and no place for a secret nest. I've kept them in until mid day and later for 3 days.

My original suspicion was that I was not feeding them correctly so now I'm back to that again. I noticed today that of the D/P poultry crumble mix they were picking out the corn bits but not eating the rest. I have been holding back on the veggie and fruit peels but I think I may need to cut it out for a while and see what happens. There is 16% protein in the crumble but if they are not eating it they are not getting any protein.

Is anyone else using this d/p poultry crumble mix from Farmers Warehouse Company?

 

[LynneP]

They're old enough for layer crumble or pellet...I hope some of the experienced poultry folks will participate. I think your idea of going back to a mixed ration is a good idea. If any treats stay with the less-sugary things like cukes, sunflower and pumpkin.

 

[Opa]

Try keeping them in for several days with no free ranging

 

[carress]

I'm having a similar issue. I have 8 hens, but only 4 eggs each day. Twice, I found the secret stash of 5-6 eggs, but it's been a couple weeks since the last stash, and I'm wondering...if they're laying the woods now.

Initially, the birds were laying in random places- on top of a bag of sawdust, in the corner...but I did the fake egg trick, and it worked.

Is anyone laying at all? Do you have a fake egg (or a real egg) in the nesting box?

 

[LynneP]

Any news?

 

[chickmill]

No eggs still, I kept them in all day yesterday until about 3pm today and nothing! I've searched in all possible places. I have a real egg in one of the nesting boxes.