Freeloaders or late bloomers?

[chicksandchores]

Hey all,
I got lavender ameraucanas in May of this year. Nobody has crowed, nobody is red in the face just pink, they have the characteristic teensy combs and nonexistent wattles of the ladies, and they are around 24 weeks old.
Not ONE. SINGLE. EGG. I’m super impatient for them to start laying, as I LOVE a good mix of colors in my egg basket, so please tell me there’s still hope?! When did yours lay??

 

[wamtazlady]

Not laying an egg by 24 weeks is not unusual. If it were summer I would tell you to be patient and eggs should be coming within another month or so. However, it is fall and the daylight continues to get shorter and shorter. It may be that you will have to wait until the days get longer before getting eggs. Chickens lay best when they can get 14 hours of daylight every day. When I have gotten late chicks they are usually starting to lay in February.

When I get chickens and want eggs before the year is over, I generally try to get them in early March or at least before March has ended. Even doing that I once had a pullet wait until February to start laying. The earliest I have had a bird lay is 20 weeks.

 

[Ted_Harrell]

Yep, I have two leghorn mixes that were hatched at the same time, one has been laying for about a week and the other has not started yet, again I am not know for having a large amount of patience. I love hatching out chicks but then again you have to wait for that too lol.

 

[Duck_life]

My lavender orpingtons STILL haven't laid and they are almost 8 months old!! They have red combs but no eggs!!

 

[Acre4Me]

I have approx 15 females across several from an April 29 hatch. We are getting eggs from about 1/2 of them, starting about 3 weeks ago. So several of them are not yet laying. We do supplement light in the coop on a timer to provide 14 hours light a day. With the light declining and lack of red comb/wattles they may wait until late Jan Feb as the days start lengthening.

Once I had dark brown leghorns from a feb hatch. First started laying at around 36+ weeks, next at 44 weeks, then the third still hadn’t laid an egg by the time we sold them in early January when they were 45 weeks old.

hopefully they don’t make you wait too long.

 

[sourland]

Your birds have been bred/selected for looks and egg color not early start and frequency of production. Patience, Grasshopper, they will lay; although, it may not be until spring.

 

[aart]

The 'prettier' the egg color, the later and less prolifically they lay.

 

[Ridgerunner]

so please tell me there’s still hope?! When did yours lay??

I got some designer hatching eggs from a breeder that was working with Ameraucanas to develop a new color/pattern. Not lavenders but still Ameraucanas. I hatched them in March and kept three pullets. The first two to start laid their first eggs the first week of December, nine months later. This was during the shortest days of the year and still getting shorter. They broke all the rules. The third one waited until February. The lady I got the eggs from was shocked it took that long, about half of hers are laying by 5 to 6 months. Since they were my only blue egg layers it was easy to tell when they started.

Part of my problem was that I only had three. For averages to mean much you have to have enough for averages to mean something. I don't know how many you have. I was just unlucky to get some late bloomers.

The strange thing to me is that when I crossed them with my mixed-breed rooster the resulting pullets were back on the 5 to 6 month start laying schedule. I don't know what caused those original three to be so slow, it obviously wasn't heredity.

I don't know when yours will start laying. It may be soon, it may be a while. There is no way of knowing.

 

[Tillie43]

I have a 34 week old Brown Leghorn who has not started to lay. Very small comb and no wattles. I’ve stopped looking for eggs from her and just accept the fact that she can be my freeloader. Some things are out of our control and when they start to lay is one of them.

 

[chicksandchores]

I’m hoping three of them will start soon. They do have larger, pinker combs than the other one; the fourth seems to be behind in every way, light comb, small body, lesser comb development. I’m hoping that doesn’t mean I only have one pullet; the others don’t walk, talk, or act like roos so maybe she’s just slow.
I guess we shall see; I’ve heard rumors of lavender ameraucanas not laying until 50+ weeks old