Can diet encourage age of laying?

[SunnyAlberta]

My Buff Orpington is 18 weeks old and not laying. Is this because of her age or breed or am I not feeding her correctly? I read that increasing protein at this age could get her laying.

 

[sourland]

18 weeks is generally too early to expect eggs from an orpington. They generally mature more lower than production bred birds.

 

[Chris09]

Q - Can diet encourage age of laying?
A - Yes, If you are feeding a incomplete feed and or offering a lot of treats.

Q - Is this because of her age or breed or am I not feeding her correctly?
A - It could be her age and the breed if you got her from a good breeder that breeds show quality birds, exhibition fowl tend to take a little longer to mature.

Q - I read that increasing protein at this age could get her to lay.
A - If you are feeding a low protein diet (less than 15% protein) then increasing the protein may encourage her to lay. Hen will lay well on a feed that is as low as 16% as long as they are not fed treats.


What type of feed are you feeding your hen, what is the protein amount, does it contain animal proteins, and do you offer lots of treats?

Chris

 

[SunnyAlberta]

These birds were raised by a local farmer as day-old chicks to six weeks (Barred Rock and Columbian Wyandotte) and 12 weeks old (Buff Orpington) when they came to me. They were fed a home-made, organic feed that included soy for protein. For two weeks fed them a mix of the feed the farmer gave me, plus Nutrena Chick Starter/Grower.

http://www.nutrenaworld.com/nutrena...try/naturewise-chick-starter-grower/index.jsp

Now they get Nutrena (18% protein) plus treats. Treats are homemade whole wheat or multi-grain bread and veggie scraps for the most part. They also get wild bird seed tossed into their run as scratch. I'm not sure how to determine if they are getting too many treats.

 

[ChickNhood]

My vote is too young...you wpuld definately want to cpnsider switvhing to a layer feed son though...i read.at 18 to 20 weeks you should increase calcium ontake! Patience is a virtue...she will be laying soon enough!

 

[SunnyAlberta]

If I offer additional calcium, such as oyster shell or crushed egg shells, is this feed appropriate? I haven't even gone through half a bag yet.

 

[Fred's Hens]

The young birds do not need additional calcium They'll only need added calcium when they actually lay eggs, expelling calcium every day in the form of an egg shell.

My advice is to relax and enjoy your birds. They'll lay when their bodies trigger it and not a day earlier. A large fowl like an Orp is not an early layer. Early laying isn't all it's cracked up to be, pun intended.

 

[ChickNhood]

My vote is too young...you wpuld definately want to cpnsider switvhing to a layer feed son though...i read.at 18 to 20 weeks you should increase calcium ontake! Patience is a virtue...she will be laying soon enough!