8 month old chicks not laying :(

[chickcrazzy]

I'm waiting on them to start laying to sell them! I have a line of people wanting eggs but half my flock is 8 month old chicks that arn't laying :/ I feed them organic egg laying pellets, healthy table scraps: pesticide free fruits and veggies etc, and oyster shells. Can you help a girl out?

 

[fshinggrl]

What breeds do you have? Could they have a secret nest? Are they free ranged or always in a coop/run?

 

[Folly's place]

So sorry! Different breeds and strains within breeds will start laying at different times, even with a good environment, etc. My earliest pullets started at 18 weeks, and my latest at 10 months! Those first eggs will be small. If your birds free range, they may start laying in a non-standard location, causing an egg hunt on your part. Try fake eggs in the nest boxes and keeping everyone in the coop and run until late afternoon for a while. Mary

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I'm waiting on them to start laying to sell them! I have a line of people wanting eggs but half my flock is 8 month old chicks that arn't laying

I feed them organic egg laying pellets, healthy table scraps: pesticide free fruits and veggies etc, and oyster shells. Can you help a girl out?

So, a few questions that will help answer your question:

1- what breed(s) are involved?
2 - are you certain the birds are female?
3 - what is the protein content of your layer feed and how much "other" stuff is generally in their daily diet? Many of the scraps we offer are surprisingly low in protein and if the layer feed is already on the low side that can bring down their overall intake to a level that can slow maturation and effect production.
4 - do you have any current photos of the birds you can post so that we can see what their physical maturity is like at this point?
5 - do you know the hatch date or age in weeks of the birds? There is possibly a +/- of several weeks in how you might count 8 months and how the next person would, and with pullets weeks is a great way to measure age.

 

[chickcrazzy]

I let them free range , 2 barred plymouth rocks, 1 silkie, 1 cochin, 2 rhode island reds. Excuse me if I sound rude but I think a person who has owned chickens for while should know the diferance between a rooster and a hen!

[/IMG]

 

[chickcrazzy]

I am in Kansas for a couple of days so I don't have any new photos right now but these were around a month ago. I will post some new ones when I get back tomorrow.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I let them free range , 2 barred plymouth rocks, 1 silkie, 1 cochin, 2 rhode island reds. Excuse me if I sound rude but I think a person who has owned chickens for while should know the diferance between a rooster and a hen!

[/URL]

While I don't think you sound "rude" - I asked because you would be surprised at the number of times I have had someone say they can't figure out why a hen is not laying yet and see that their "hen" is a rooster -- I have no idea how long you have been keeping chickens based on your posts in this thread, so the question was pertinent.

 

[scottpat2]

Im am new to chickens , just got a couple weeks ago, not sure when they will lay.any ideas?

 

[aart]

OGM's questions posted were good ones and could well be they key(s) to help you find a solution.....
.....I think you should answer them all and I'll add a few:

How many chickens total (with ages) do you have?
How big is your coop and how many nests do you have?

The younger chickens might be intimidated/bullied away from the coop nests by the older birds if there is a lack of space and nests...and even if there is enough space/nests.
If you free range, could they maybe be laying out in their range area somewhere?

 

[chickcrazzy]

I have 3 2 year old chickens, 9 8 months, and 9 1/2 years. The coop is 8x12 with 8 foot high ceilings. There are 18 nesting boxes. I watch my chickens (since we have hawks) every time I let them free range so I don't think they are laying somewere else.