Free Range-laying habits

[Fowel Frenzy]

My 13 girls (dob 6/2/11) BR's, Dominiques, Speckled Sussex, 2 roo's(meat) along with the my female runner duck and 2 drakes have been free range since they were about 6 weeks old.. on 9/2 my female runner duck laid her first egg, yeah

, duck-duck has been a steady layer since, at a egg a day. Some double yolkers; sometimes 3 eggs in 48 hours...seriously. My girls, on the other hand, dont seem to be very interested in the whole egg laying sceen..I dont think. They have gotten all red in the face..no chicken dances or squating but still nothing in the nest boxes. No signs of eggbound or any other health issues. (other than

roos)I've tried changing straw, not changing straw, I left a duck egg in there to give them a hint too, Increasing/decreasing the size of the boxes...nothing. They all come in at night on their own, usually. I offer free choice oyster shell, feed all flock 18%, abundent scratch grain and I also offer tons of fresh mellon rinds and salad bar left-overs which get gobbled down. If they are hiding a nest, I sure cant find it.. I have gone around the yard like a weirdo looking in all the bushes for signs that they are laying in some secret place..but nothing, dust bath wollows and resting spots but no eggs in them. With the days getting shorter I put a natural grow light in the hen house now and I am seeing signs that they have been in the boxes but still no eggs.

Any other suggestions on tricks and ploys to get the girls to perform? Honestly, these will be $300 each eggs when I finally get them if this keeps up!.

 

[galanie]

Unfortunately, it's hormones and maturity that will make them lay. Nothing you can do to hurry them up. It's like with humans, you mature when you mature and not a darn thing you can do about it.

 

[Fowel Frenzy]

They will eventually, right?

 

[LT]

I have three born in early April that still aren't laying. So yours are at least two months younger than that, but I would be within the month you will start to see some eggs.

 

[ChickEngineer]

I got my first egg at 23 weeks from one of the RI's. 24 weeks got first one from one of the AC's. They are all four squatting, one more RI and one AC to go!!, come on girls!!

 

[Germangirlygirl]

I got mine in March and now they are all steadily laying an egg a day. Sometimes they skip a day or they might be laying in a secret place that I don't know about. I have 30 chickens and right now I am averaging 5-7 eggs per day. Some of the chcikens are April chicks.