First Time Chicken Person!!!

[jalmjn]

Last year my huhsband and I, along with our children, moved from the Dallas/Ft Worth Texas urban area to a rural community. True to form, when Spring came this year we decided to buy a few chicks from the local feed store. We kept them in a climate controlled area until they feathered out and then moved them to an old rabbit cage near our backdoor to keep a close eye on them until they got a little bigger and could be safely let into a chicken coop (a hen house within a fenced in area with a screen on top to keep away hawks and keep the chickens from flying out). We bought them in early March and were told they had hatched in late February. We put them in the chicken coop area in early May. I am telling you all this so you have a pretty good idea of what I have been doing in an effort to take good care of my chickens. They are a little over 6 months old and none of them have ever layed an egg??!! Am I doing something wrong?? I have been feeding them what the feed store has been telling me to feed them according to their age. I keep lots of fresh water in their area daily. I have assumed that since we have been experiencing a terrible heat-wave here (68+ days over 100 degrees) that the heat was a factor. But according to what I have been reading on here and other websites their egg production should be slowed down, but not completely null because of the heat. I am so confused!!!

 

[Mtn Margie]

What breed are they? Are they showing any of the egg laying behaviors like squatting?

 

[Iteach2008]

Our feed store told us the same thing 6 months, but they didn't start laying until 9 months.

Our frustration now is that we went from getting five eggs consistently a day down to one or two. That is really frustrating.

Well good luck and be patient. It will happen.

Sue

 

[chicmom]

Hello there!

What breeds do you have? It takes an average of five months for a hen to begin laying, but it can even take longer for some breeds. I think the heat could be a factor, and maybe what breed they are. Don't worry, keep up the good work, and they will lay soon.

There are some tell-tale signs of when a hen is getting ready to lay her first egg. They will start to show an interest in the nesting boxes, like going in and out, scratching around in there. Their combs will turn very red, and they will also do this squatting (like they were going to allow a rooster to mate them). It's a very intense squat, they make themselves very flat.

So, once you see that, you will soon see eggs!

Hope this helps,
Sharon

 

[jennh]

I wouldn't worry. I think the heat probably is a big factor, but not the only one. You didn't say what breeds they are. Some take longer than others to start laying.
Another thing to look for besides the red comb is to check their beaks. They will lose their color when they are getting ready to lay. They will go from black to yellow, or orange, whatever you call that color.

BTW,

and a warm

from SE Pa.
Wish I coould send you some of this RAIN

 

[jalmjn]

Thanks for all the advice. We have 3 Americaunas, 2 Rhode Island Reds and 2 Buff Orpingtons and 1 that I have no idea what breed she is (she is mostly black with some orange on her head)