At what age do Black Australorps begin to lay their first eggs???

[Mountaineer]

The three of them have very small combs and wattles. They are red but I wouldn't say "bright" red. My EE has no wattles at all that I can see...she has a "beard" instead. They are about 34 weeks old. My other chickens of similar age have been laying for 1-3 months. I haven't seen them squatting in a nesting box but they love to lie around and take dust baths. LOL

 

[Mountaineer]

I noticed today that my Australorp's comb and wattles are much brighter red and the Wyandotte's too. Perhaps I'll start getting eggs very soon. The EE has no wattles and practically no comb so it's hard to tell.

 

[kittykatchick]

These are my girls. Do their combs look similar to this? Color and size wise?

 

[Mountaineer]

Yes, very much so.

 

[Mountaineer]

I have a couple of Leghorns and they have huge combs and wattles so I sometimes forget that the others will never get that big.

 

[kittykatchick]

Hmm, sounds like you're getting close. I would just give it a bit more time... trust me, I know how difficult that can be. I can be extremely impatient

You're almost there!

If you act like you're going to pick up one of your nonlaying birds, does it squat for you?

 

[Mountaineer]

No, they do not. Three of my laying hens do and two do not. None of the three that aren't laying do that. Only two of my hens are prone to letting me pick them up.

 

[76972clb]

Milkyway, our 33 week old Black Australorp hasn't laid one egg nor acts like she wants to. We got her from a friend who was getting out of chickens about a month and a half ago. She has settled in great with the flock but has no interest in laying. I'm feeding her a good laying pellet with 20% protein and a good amount of leftover yummies from our kitchen, in addition to foraging over our acre back yard. Any suggestions as to how I can get her ready to lay an egg? We live in North Central / almost East Texas.

 

[Mountaineer]

I have a black Australorp that was hatched the first week of April. She laid her first egg the last week of November. She then laid 5 eggs in a little over a week. The odd thing is where she lays them. I have a hanging water dish in the run. She has laid twice underneath the water dish and twice in a nesting box. Two nights ago she laid an egg while sitting on the roost around dark. It was still warm when I went to close up the coop. The egg fell about 3 feet but didn't break because I have the coop floor lined with several inches of river sand.

 

[AutumnHens]

Nix at 25 weeks.



Nix at 23 weeks



25 weeks and still no eggs but she sure is pretty. I'm starting to think that winter is the reason and they'll start in late Jan or early Feb after a few weeks of the days getting longer.