That's where I'm at right now. I'm starting to think it's never gonna happen and that I have a flock of duds. I think the changing weather patterns (hotter where it's normally milder, milder where it's normally hotter) have had a lot to do with it. This is the mildest summer I have ever seen in California in all my 48 years of being alive and living here. My garden has been a joke... we have fabulously fertile soil, and huge fruits on the vines but nothing getting ripe because we have had cool temps at night and not enough hot days. Here in this part of California, we have usually had about 15-20 days of summer heat over 100 degrees, at least a few of them over 110--so far, we've had 4 days of 100-degree heat all summer. Most of the summer, temps have been in the low 90s or upper 80s, only seldom does it creep up above 95. Usual summer evening temps for this area are normally around 75-85, but this year they've been in the 50s and 60s. The result has been a LOT of mold and rot for food-producing plants.
I cannot help but think that the same weather that is adversely affecting crop production is also affecting livestock. I know my birds should be laying by now, at least 4 of them are laying age but I have nuttin'. About 3 weeks ago, there was some squawking and squatting that the leghorn did & I thought I would get eggs that week, but it only lasted 1 or 2 days and nothing since. While all my birds are 20+ weeks as of this Saturday, I still haven't seen any red face development, and my RIR, while rather large, has no comb to speak of and absolutely no wattles whatsoever. Face is pinkish red in the mornings but pale by evening. Same with my barred rock. She's probably 20+ weeks and still no real comb to speak of and no wattles whatsoever, not even the beginnings of them. They're all getting big, but they're not maturing or laying eggs. I feed them all the right food and got tired of waiting for them to lay so I switched them over to layer food this week (they're 20 weeks, it shouldn't hurt), hoping that the extra calcium will make them make an egg !!!
The upside is that I have a whole yard full of very happy birds which I thoroughly enjoy, but the whole point of this venture was to provide eggs for the family, and that just isn't happening. If they don't lay by the end of September, hubby's threatening to get rid of them and tear down the coop and wait until we move to the mountains to get another flock. I don't blame him... if they don't lay by the end of September, they will be then be over 6 months old & most assuredly duds, esp. the leghorn (supposedly an egg-laying machine at 15-16 weeks... yeah, right, she's 20 weeks and doesn't even ACT like she wants to lay an egg).
I know I've said it before, but I am SERIOUSLY starting to think I bought a flock of duds.
