8 month old barred rock, still not laying?

[oultonhol]

Hey Folks,
We have a Barred rock hen who is 8 months old. She eats a balanced diet, is quite large, and has not had any health concerns or worries. She is happy and friendly, gets plenty of exercise and sun light, but has yet to lay an egg. We only have 3 mature hens, which all lay different types of eggs, so we know for sure she has yet to lay. Are we missing something here?? is this typical for a barred rock? She is our first of that breed and we are pretty new to the chicken world so we are a little puzzled. Everything we find on google says she should of laid by 16-20 weeks. We have spotted her sitting in the boxes a few times, but that's it. We've continually checked the coup/run to see if she's laid elsewhere to no avail. Help!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

What's a balanced diet? Is she a hatchery bred bird or breeder bred bird? Most barred rocks start about 5-6 months of age, so it is unusual, but not unheard of.

Do you have a picture you can post? The size and color of her comb and wattles can show if she's mature enough. Are you sure she hasn't found a spot to hide them on you?

 

[oultonhol]

We purchased her from a local farm in our area. We got her freshly hatched so we are sure of age. I'll attach a photo of the food they eat with dietary information as well as photos (taken today)

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[oultonhol]

 

[oultonhol]

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Switching to layer too soon will slow down maturity. I personally don't use layer at all preferring to use an All Flock.

I can't quite make out her comb type. Is it a single or rose comb? I don't know if she's a barred rock.

 

[oultonhol]

oh really??? We are new to all this and were told to switch to layer. Should we switch to an All flock or leave it as is and hope for the best? Definitely a single comb, although it's really small and hasn't developed much. I have noticed in the last few weeks it looks a lot more red, but still nothing. We were told she is barred rock, but again, I can't vouch for that either. Its possible she could be mixed

 

[oultonhol]

Here is a zoomed in view

 

[pennyJo1960]

Have to agree with oldhenslikesdogs you may have switched her a bit early
so she should start soon mine lay every day but are 2 now so give her a bit more time
as soon as her comb goes a bit dark she will lay it is a girl

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

She doesn't look like a purebred rock to me, my guess would be a mix, which would explain why she hasn't started yet. The other hens in your photo look like mixes too. Some breeds can take a bit longer to get going.

She has good color on her comb, so I would expect something within the next month. Layer should only be fed to hens that are actively laying. A non laying hen doesn't need the extra calcium. I feed an All Flock year round, or a starter grower, with a separate bowl of oyster shells for the extra calcium. No need to switch feeds when I have chicks, or birds aren't laying or when they are molting.

There are different ways to feeds chickens, pick what works well for you and your birds.