8 or 9 month old chickens questions

[crazyh717]

So the male I have that looks just like the Easter egger is well a male Easter egger then. We are keeping him

 

[junebuggena]

Holy cow,got em all, and yes the legs are yellow onThe white one. Now I can look up more info on the laying and growth of them

Then the white one is a White Rock. Black sexlinks and AmberLinks usually mature faster than other breeds. They usually start laying between 18 and 22 weeks. White Rocks usually lay at about 20 to 25 weeks. Orpingtons usually start sometime between 20 and 28 weeks, but it's not uncommon for them to lay much later than that. Easter Eggers can be all over the place, and vary quite a lot when it comes to laying age. Some lay as early as 18 weeks. Others don't lay until about 8 months old.

 

[crazyh717]

Then the white one is a White Rock. Black sexlinks and AmberLinks usually mature faster than other breeds. They usually start laying between 18 and 22 weeks. White Rocks usually lay at about 20 to 25 weeks. Orpingtons usually start sometime between 20 and 28 weeks, but it's not uncommon for them to lay much later than that. Easter Eggers can be all over the place, and vary quite a lot when it comes to laying age. Some lay as early as 18 weeks. Others don't lay until about 8 months old.

alright cool I just talked to my husband he is going to help me set up a run for them this week, I'll get started here in a bit. Had to make a detour as I have either a Rouen or a mallard that started sitting this morning on 18 eggs yep 18, and my dog was playing to close to her so she ran off of them so I had to build a pen around her and set up her pool and gather materials to make some shade for her,
But now she is happily sitting again with her mate in the pool sleeping lol.

But I'm gonna let the 3 roosters we aren't keeping, run around free, and set up a run for them, is a fence about 5 ft tall good for a run? I'm going to be using 15 -30 ft fencing panels that were gates to make it, and they are about 4 or 5 feet tall

 

[junebuggena]

My run fence is only about 3 feet tall. Keeps them pretty well contained, most of the time. They do fly over if they really, really want too. But that's not very often.

 

[crazyh717]

Alright cool that means I really do have everything I need to build it.

 

[donrae]

You have a nice flock that looks like they should be very productive layers. It is odd that you've not had any eggs yet. But, a good amount of those ladies look like they should be laying pretty much any day now, from the nice red combs.

I'm not sure light is your issue. From what I'm understanding, your coop is more of a pen, being open on two sides. I have birds in similar enclosures and they do well, lay on schedule, etc. Sounds spacious enough, although more space is always better

.

I think pulling the cockerels might help. The hens don't look overmated in the pics, but they could still be stressed from the boys. Won't hurt to try, anyway.
Change back to grower feed, and hold the scratch for a while. You can still do say 2-3 handfuls for that many birds, if you want to give them a treat.

Are you sure no one is getting in and eating eggs? Anything like that? Some of those birds really look like they should be laying......

 

[crazyh717]

Yea my pen is pretty secure the most open spot onit is between the itty bitty chicken wire, and I check early morning and evening for eggs.
With the feed as soon as they start laying I can give them it correct?
And I just pulled one of the cocks but not o boy does it want back in and it sure gave me a run for my money.
Came back inside covered in sweat lol

 

[aart]

It is indeed odd that the sexlinks are not laying yet.
To know for sure if they are laying or not.....examine their vents and pelvic points.

Vent:
Dry, tight, and smaller - usually not laying.
Moist, wide, and larger - usually laying

Pelvic Points 2 bony points(pelvic bones) on either side of vent:
Less than 2 fingertip widths apart usually means not laying.
More than 2 fingertip widths apart usually means laying.

 

[donrae]

Yea my pen is pretty secure the most open spot onit is between the itty bitty chicken wire, and I check early morning and evening for eggs.
With the feed as soon as they start laying I can give them it correct?
And I just pulled one of the cocks but not o boy does it want back in and it sure gave me a run for my money.
Came back inside covered in sweat lol

Okay, this made me giggle! Flippin' roosters, right?

You can do the layer feed, or you can stay on grower. Since you've got mostly hens of laying age, layer should be okay. I'm not sure how it is for your other birds, though. Layer has the lower amount of protein, and higher calcium. I have birds of all ages and both genders, so I feed an all-in-one type feed to everyone, including my solitary duck hen.

It's really puzzling why they haven't laid yet. Usually, when someone posts this question, they have ornamental breeds, or severe overcrowding, or a recent predator attack, or some other easy to pinpoint reason for the lack of production.

They look healthy in the pics. Have you checked for mites, etc? Or maybe have a vet do a fecal test for worms? That's usually pretty inexpensive.

 

[crazyh717]

How do I check for mites?