can you trick chickens to start laying?

[mommachillroy]

We have 3 6 month old chickens that havent started laying yet and my boyfriends getting impatient. He asked a friend of ours if there are any ways to get a chicken to start laying and she said she heard if you put golf balls in the coop theyll think they are laying and then start actually laying eggs. Is this true? My boyfriend would like to know if he puts an egg from the supermarket in the coop would it have the same effect since we dont have golf balls

 

[Spartan22]

Not an expert on this, but my 7 chickens just started laying few weeks ago, I still have 3 more thats not laying. I've placed ceramic eggs on some of their nests since some of them laid eggs on the floor and they did followed suit. If you use plastic, wood or ceramic eggs might be safer since they can't peck on it and break to encourage egg eating if they accidentally break the real ones.

Now it depends on what kind of chicken you have on their egg laying maturity, what food you feed them, conditions of their safety ( if they get spook often), too much treats? not feeding on layer feeds. Ive noticed that when there were storms few nights ago or when I mow close to the coop earlier than usual I get less eggs. But they are more consistent when they are content and had proper feeds.

 

[welasharon]

Pretty much if a hen is fed a proper diet she is going to lay when her body is ready. Not much you can do to rush that.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

We have 3 6 month old chickens that havent started laying yet and my boyfriends getting impatient. He asked a friend of ours if there are any ways to get a chicken to start laying and she said she heard if you put golf balls in the coop theyll think they are laying and then start actually laying eggs. Is this true? My boyfriend would like to know if he puts an egg from the supermarket in the coop would it have the same effect since we dont have golf balls

The golf balls are used to show them WHERE to lay - not to induce laying itself. You don't want to use real eggs because of the length of wait you may still have (think spoilage and smelly mess if/when it gets broken) and because of mess if/when it gets broken. You can get practice golf balls (they are plastic) for like $2-3 for a bag of 15 or so.
If you post photos of your birds we can help you judge how mature they are and how close to laying they might be.

 

[mommachillroy]

 

[smarsh2]

yes you can trick the chickens into, but it is a real slight of hand trick, chickens watch closely. I have found it is easiest to slip the bought eggs into the nest without them seeing you if you distract them with a treat.

 

[mommachillroy]

 

[mommachillroy]

I have a white silky, im not sure how okd she is i just got her a couple weeks ago. And the gray and red one i was told is an americana and the other is a wyandotte

 

[islandgirl82]

You can't rush them into laying. They will start when they're physically mature enough...just like any other female. The age of maturity varies amongst breeds and even still are more rough estimations. Ol Grey Mare is correct about using golf balls as training tools to show them WHERE to lay. You will know when your girls are getting close because they will begin showing signs such as squatting down in front of you and spreading their wings if you try to touch them, their combs will swell amd darken and they will take a sudden interest in the nests. Imo, your girls still look to be a couple of weeks out before they're ready.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

A lot of times with a question like when they will lay it is helpful to have ages in weeks as "6 months" can mean +/- 4ish weeks from one person's interpretation to the next and that 4 weeks can make quite a bit of difference in maturity of the bird.
Your little grey one is a pretty little Easter Egger pullet - they are often misrepresented as Ameraucanas. She will *probably* lay eggs in some shade of blue or green as they are mixed breeds using blue egg breeds as part of the equation, but the colorful eggs are not a guarantee - just so you are prepared for the possibility.
Can you get a clear side shot of your gold laced?
Really, neither the EE or GLW look like they are too terribly close to laying - things you'll see is growth and reddening of the comb and (at least for the GLW) wattles, performance of the submissive squat (if you reach down for them they bow and spread their wings slightly as though they are prepared to *receive* a rooster) - so you probably have another couple of weeks to wait still.