Getting....Discouraged...:\

[Chick1043]

I am waiting for my Dark Brahma and Ameraucana pullets to lay. They are 21-22 weeks old. How long until they lay eggs? :\\

 

[NovaAman]

Are they getting enough sun? Oyster shell? My silkies are almost old enough to lay... another month, and 2 more for my Dottes to lay...

 

[peepblessed]

My easter eggers took about 5 1/2 months. My silkies are 6 months and still no eggs...

Can't be too long now

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I know the frustration of waiting.
Keep in mind that the longer they wait the more mature their female parts will be.
I just lost a pullet today to egg binding and prolapsed vent. Very sad and painful death for her.

This is the first one and she's one I've lost to prolapse and she's one of the earliest I've had to lay.
I'm seriously considering reduced daylength for pullets to delay them.

I got her to release the first bound egg and she improved 2 days later she was bound again, prolapsed and the next morning dead.

 

[Nicole01]

My dark brahma is 25 weeks and she has not laid an egg yet. She just is starting to become very noisy, so I imagine it will happen in 3-4 weeks from now, perhaps sooner.

Unless you bought your Americana from a breeder, you have an Easter Egger, which also take longer to lay. My eldest Easter Egger is 25 weeks old and she laid her second beautiful blue/green egg this morning. Her first egg came two days ago.

Well worth the wait! My RIR lays the most with 6 eggs a week, which she started to lay at 23 weeks of age.

 

[Chick1043]

They are DEFINITELY getting enough sun! I don't feed them oyster shell because I can't find anywhere that sells them! But I would think they are getting enough protein because my White Rock started laying about 4 weeks ago and her eggs have really thick shells! So..I dunno...Could they possibly be laying somewhere I can't see them?

 

[AlienChick]

If you don't have oyster shells available and your feed does not contain extra calcium, you might want to just throw out some crushed egg shells for them to eat.

We eat a lot of eggs, so we always have crushed egg shells available (I also have oyster shell available). They eat what they want.

I know what you mean, tho, about the wait! I was getting so discouraged and then voila . . . an egg!

Now I get about 10 - 13 eggs a day!

 

[Impress]

Quote:
If they have a place to hide them from you, they will, they LOVE to hide eggs! When I am allowing mine to free range I have learned it is smarter just to make some free range nest boxes and put them about the yard to tempt them into hiding them where I know they are! I lay scrap board against the house and put straw underneath, hide old refrigerator vegetable crisping drawers full of hay in my shrubbery, etcetera.

 

[Chick1043]

Quote:
If they have a place to hide them from you, they will, they LOVE to hide eggs! When I am allowing mine to free range I have learned it is smarter just to make some free range nest boxes and put them about the yard to tempt them into hiding them where I know they are! I lay scrap board against the house and put straw underneath, hide old refrigerator vegetable crisping drawers full of hay in my shrubbery, etcetera.

That's a good idea. I also let mine free range. A lot! I will try that!

 

[clucksbc]

I was doing the waiting game...
this week we extended there..pen...think they are happier and getting more sunshine.suddenly 3 have started laying....
My surprise was the silkie layed two days in a row...actually thought she was going for a third today...
read up on whatching for behaviour...cues
good luck
hope we are singing you the egg laying anthem really soon