chickens not laying eggs yet

[iwiw60]

After enlarging the pic of Joonie I'm almost thinking you may very well have a roo on your hands. On the other hand, she could just be asserting herself as the top chicken in the flock and letting the rest of them know it.

As for age, I really think these chickens are younger than 27-28 weeks which if they were that age would be around 7 months old. They don't "appear" to be filled out and looking like true adults just yet. But as some of your girls are doing the submissive squat just keep a keen eye out and you'll get that first egg when you least expect it!

 

[aart]

Chicks go thru 3-4 feather changes in the first year....first full blown molt happens their second fall.

Get close up, clear, well lit pics of their combs from the front...might be able to tell gender from that.
Look for long, skinny pointed saddle feathers(grow out form in front of tail and down sides) and hackle feathers(on neck).

EE's can often be late bloomers in the laying department....short days are also a big factor.

 

[10whiskers]

Well, I went to get a picture of Joonie's comb, but all six EE's were right in front of the door, writhing and acting possessed. I guess this is a dust bath without the dust? I've never seen them do this. Anyway, I opened the door wide enough to stick the camera in, but couldn't get a good shot of Joonie's comb. I could tell when I got the pictures blown up, that her saddle feathers are round. (Whew!)

I do agree, that they are in molt and will proceed with the smashed up boiled eggs. Thanks iwiw60 and aart for the help. I don't think I could go through this alone. The way they were thrashing about and taking little notice of me, I would have thought they were dying of poisoning or something.

PS: I don't think the picture below will blow up clear enough to be any help on the comb, but maybe useful for their face color. My camera is eight years old with only 6.1 megapixels.

Joonie: Left, Ginger: top, and Gilda (who has a similar comb to Joonie) on the right.

 

[iwiw60]

Well, I went to get a picture of Joonie's comb, but all six EE's were right in front of the door, writhing and acting possessed. I guess this is a dust bath without the dust? I've never seen them do this. Anyway, I opened the door wide enough to stick the camera in, but couldn't get a good shot of Joonie's comb. I could tell when I got the pictures blown up, that her saddle feathers are round. (Whew!)

I do agree, that they are in molt and will proceed with the smashed up boiled eggs. Thanks iwiw60 and aart for the help. I don't think I could go through this alone. The way they were thrashing about and taking little notice of me, I would have thought they were dying of poisoning or something.

PS: I don't think the picture below will blow up clear enough to be any help on the comb, but maybe useful for their face color. My camera is eight years old with only 6.1 megapixels.

Joonie: Left, Ginger: top, and Gilda (who has a similar comb to Joonie) on the right.

Yep! They were dust-bathing alright!! First time I saw my girls doing that I almost had a heart attack thinking they were dying!! You might set up an area in their run for that. Try mixing sand/woodstove ash/some dirt...they love that! I am still leaning toward roo for Joonie, however. Notice the nice pointed hackle feathers coming in?

 

[aart]

Nah, at 6-7 months old, those are pullets.
Hackles and saddles come in at 4-5 months and would be much skinnier, longer, pointer and shinier.

 

[10whiskers]

Yep! They were dust-bathing alright!! First time I saw my girls doing that I almost had a heart attack thinking they were dying!! You might set up an area in their run for that. Try mixing sand/woodstove ash/some dirt...they love that! I am still leaning toward roo for Joonie, however. Notice the nice pointed hackle feathers coming in?

True on the heart attack. I was thinking snake bite! Anyway, I don't have a run yet. It's just the 8x10' coop (metal shed). The shavings by the door are thin there so I can open the door. On the other side, it's about five inches deep in shavings. I just muss up the old shavings and apply new ones about every five days. I did shake more of that Diatomaceous Earth on the deeper areas.

I guess we will see on whether Joonie is a he, though. I can't see what you're seeing. When I blow it up on my computer, there is a light color surrounding the dark pointy hackle feathers. Unless it's the hairless pointy things I felt when I picked up Joonie. After I did that, I felt really bad, because I figured they must hurt her when pushed upon. Oh well. If Joonie turns out to be a Roo, I do get a refund. I bought all six birds at a brick and mortar store. I bought the first three, then came back two or three weeks later and bought the others. Gilda has always been the runt and Liza is actually larger than Joonie. All were advertized as 5 1/2 month old pullets on October 2.

Thanks again!