5 hens, 7 months old and no eggs???

erinecox1981

Hatching
9 Years
Sep 3, 2010
1
0
7
Hi! I'm new here, and joined because I REALLY need some help!

In February, I bought some day-old chicks. 4 Buff Orpingtons and 2 Bantam Cochins. They have all grown very well, seem to get along fine, and seem to be healthy. On occasion, I've seen a orpington drop some rather gooey, yellow poop... however I see one "poop" a day of the runny poop (don't know who it belongs to) and all the rest of it is normal. So, if it's a health issue, it's not spreading or pervasive. Is that anything to be concerned about?

Onto the main issue. The seller sexed the orpingtons. They were all supposed to be hens. We didn't check the cochins, but lucked out and got an adorable little rooster and hen (Rooster Bob is so cute!). Out of my orps, 1 of them is HUGE (we're thinking like 10lbs), 2 are rather large (maybe 8lbs) but not quite as big and one is a bit smaller than those 2 (maybe about 6lbs). The smaller one has a very small comb and seems just more compact and fluffy. The other 3 bigger ones have very large, red floppy combs and the red comby-like things that kinda hang down below their beak (you can tell I haven't a clue), and are much taller with longer legs. None of them have spurs though (just little nubs on their legs) and as far as we can tell at all, Rooster Bob is the only one who ever crows (it's a funny juvenile kinda crow and very distinctive). Also, we've seen the orps fluff their neck feathers out and run at each other. Is that a rooster-only behavior? As far as coloring, all 4 are exactly the same color and have the same texture feathers. Having gone this long without a single egg from anyone makes me think my 3 big orps are roosters... but that still doesn't explain why my one orp hen and cochin aren't laying?

I started them on the crushed starter feed from the pet store. At 20 weeks, I moved them to the layena crushed and then about a month ago the pellets. I also give them the crushed oyster shells thrown on the ground for them to scratch along with rolled oats, some ground flax every once in a while. They also get leftover grapes, fruit peelings, veggie lefovers, strawberry tops (no potato skin, I read those are bad). My husband catches extra crickets and throws them to them. They have 2 water containers we don't allow to get empty, and they never go without food. I only added the second water container a month ago after I kept finding the 1 alone empty. So, a month or so ago, it's feasible they could've gone just a couple hours a day without water which I know is horrible, so that's why I bought a second one. Could them having ran out of water some a month ago be causing the problem?

I've just finally added some roosts inside their coop and some laying boxes. They've had a couple of roosts outside the coop. I wasnt sure if the boxes where "private" enough so I also added a pet carrier with some hay in it. They are (and have always been) in a 10x10 dog kennel, temporarily. Within the next 2 weeks, we will be able to order one of the portable, electric nets to give them much more room and access to fresh grass, bugs, etc. I can't let them totally free-range because of our dogs and coyotes about.

I've suspected the heat. We live in South Alabama and we've had a heat index of 105+ for about 6-8 weeks now. They are in the shade, however with a tarp over the kennel to protect them from the rain and heat.

So, I've said all that so that you guys will know EVERYTHING about them so I can figure this out. I'm most concerned about the following: are the occassional yellow poops a problem? Do I have 3 orp roosters? Is what I'm feedin them/their housing or something else causing them to not lay yet?

I go out every day looking for my first egg. I know they get under their coop, but I get down there and dig around and can't find one. Surely there would be ONE trace of some kind of egg shell if they are being laid and they are eating them or something else is.

Anyway, I am very open to any advice/input/etc that any of you may have. Thanks so much in advance!

Erin


ETA: I am such a dummy! I keep thinking I got them at the beginning of Feb, then I realized that it wasn't all that cold, so I searched my email. I got them around May 10-15th. So that makes them only 15 weeks old. GEEEZ! They're just so tall I kept thinking they had to be older. Well that answers the laying question. I'd still love some input on whether u guys think I have a few roos and the yellow poop... or anything else you might want to comment on. THANKS!
 
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15 weeks is of course early. They do vary a lot from individual to individual, and my orps were a little later than some others, maybe 23 weeks, while I got my first egg around 18 weeks from another breed.

It does sound like you have several roos. The roos will have distinctly thicker legs than the hens, within the same breed. Much too young for real spur growth. And sometimes the roos who are lower in the pecking order won't crow. I have one I never heard crow til he was about a year old.
 
Try taking some pics of your Orps and posting them on "what breed/gender am i" - someone there should be able to help.

oh BTW
welcome-byc.gif



carol
 
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