7 Months and No Eggs

[feathersnuggles]

My EE and wyandotte are 28 weeks old and not laying. EE squats and checks out nests, but wyandotte does neither. 2 other hens have been laying for 1 month now and one has been laying for 2 months.

They all eat the same food, free-range the same yard, etc. What's up with the non-layers?

 

[TipsyDog]

Quote:
SLACKERS!

I've got a few of them myself!

 

[woolymama]

No squatting yet. They also refuse to let our roo mate with them.
I'll try the cat food - as it happens I have plenty of that on hand!

 

[marlon]

We have two Ameraucanas about 7 months old. One has been laying daily for six weeks. The other one nothing! Both eat the same feed, scraps and oyster shells. Both have a nice run. The only difference is that the one not laying seems a bit smaller and has a smaller comb. She is very healthy otherwise.

Anyone has any suggestions? Hormone therapy? Psychotherapy? Seriously, we would appreciate any thoughts.

 

[TipsyDog]

Quote:

and

to you!

I got some of mine to start laying at 20 weeks - here's what I did:

I went out in the run and sat with the girls and had a talk about how I really needed eggs now. Then I explained to them that I was hungry and read them several chicken recipes from my cookbook.

Two days later.... eggs!

 

[Jess N Jeff]

My 7 month old Australorp and Cochin Bantam have not started laying yet either. I've done EVERYTHING possible....nothing. I've even given them the tour of the grill and oven....nothing. I've begged, pleeded and threatened...nothing. I think they are just pulling the California slacker card.

 

[suzannaski]

My Americaunas are about 7 months old. I think only one is laying eggs.
I've only gotten one so far, hence the super-happy rhyme earlier.
I found the egg after this list of events:
- their combs got BRIGHT red
- they started doing the squat thing all the time
- I kept them in their coop for two days (they are free range) The first day, I found a bona-fide nest, the second day there was an eg waaaay down in the bottom of the nest. I almost missed it.
- I put a light on in the coop for some extra "daylight" in the evening, since we have short days now.
-I resigned myself to the fact that they may not lay until spring. (I read somewhere that some hens might not lay until springtime)

I let them out to run around for two hours in the morning and evening while I am there feeding the horses & doing chores. I may have to keep doing that until I can get them a more chicken-ergonomic coop.

I hope this helps in some way! I didn't realize how frustrated I was until I got that egg yesterday. I was absolutely giddy when I found it. I called everyone I knew to give them my important news!

 

[deanna&rich]

Quote:
I got some of mine to start laying at 20 weeks - here's what I did:

I went out in the run and sat with the girls and had a talk about how I really needed eggs now. Then I explained to them that I was hungry and read them several chicken recipes from my cookbook.

Two days later.... eggs!

Egggxcellent !!!

 

[loverOFchickens]

Quote:
Same here cept' it's the same hatchery.

 

[Whisper]

I was thinking about this today. I have three hens, all the same age (8 months). Two of them give me an egg 6 days out of the week, rain or shine, on 16% layer pellets. One of them started laying tiny eggs a few months back, then quit entirely.

If I'm building a flock and selecting for the traits I want my hens to pass on, I want to pass on "early laying" and "consistent laying on layer ration." I don't want to keep hens that demand a higher protein ration just to produce one egg, or hens that don't lay reliably.

So, thinking of it that way, I've decided to cull the nonproductive hen, and to select my eggs to incubate from the better hens I have. It would be a harder decision if the hen was a pet or had a great personality, but she's a bossy greedy brat. Our roo doesn't even try to mate her, and when he's giving out choice little treats, he's giving them to the other hens. Now I just have to decide if she's going to become soup or if I'm going to try to sell her. I can't conscionably advertise her as a laying hen.