Hens not laying, am I feeding them right?

[Backyardexplorer]

Hi all,

My husband and I have 5 hens that are of laying age:

- 2 Easter Eggers 23 weeks
- 1 splash ameracauna 20ish weeks
- 1 blue copper maran 20 weeks
- 1 lavender Orpington 20 weeks

None have start laying yet, am I being impatient or am I doing something else wrong?

We have 4 (10 week old) hens and they live in the same coop with the older hens. All of the chickens free range about 8hrs daily. I throw layer feed mixed with scratch in the yard for them to nibble on periodically, however inside the coop I only put out chick starter feed and a bowl of oyster shell. I did this based on different things I read online when feeding a mixed flock.

I want to reach out though and make sure I’m not doing anything wrong. As my hens are reaching 20+ weeks and still not laying I have felt concerned perhaps I’m doing something wrong with their nutrition?

Bonus question: How old were your girls when they started laying? What breed?

 

[Squawkers]

Hi all,

My husband and I have 5 hens that are of laying age:

- 2 Easter Eggers 23 weeks
- 1 splash ameracauna 20ish weeks
- 1 blue copper maran 20 weeks
- 1 lavender Orpington 20 weeks

None have start laying yet, am I being impatient or am I doing something else wrong?

We have 4 (10 week old) hens and they live in the same coop with the older hens. All of the chickens free range about 8hrs daily. I throw layer feed mixed with scratch in the yard for them to nibble on periodically, however inside the coop I only put out chick starter feed and a bowl of oyster shell. I did this based on different things I read online when feeding a mixed flock.

I want to reach out though and make sure I’m not doing anything wrong. As my hens are reaching 20+ weeks and still not laying I have felt concerned perhaps I’m doing something wrong with their nutrition?

Bonus question: How old were your girls when they started laying? What breed?

I think just give them time! In my last batch my barred rock was 21 weeks old, my australorp was about 23 weeks, my speckled Sussex was about 24 weeks, and my Jersey giant was about 26 weeks. Where are you located? It might be that they might not lay now because (in some places) the days are getting shorter. If that is the case, they will lay next spring. They usually start laying soon after their face reddens and they start squatting.

 

[Backyardexplorer]

I think just give them time! In my last batch my barred rock was 21 weeks old, my australorp was about 23 weeks, my speckled Sussex was about 24 weeks, and my Jersey giant was about 26 weeks. Where are you located? It might be that they might not lay now because (in some places) the days are getting shorter. If that is the case, they will lay next spring. They usually start laying soon after their face reddens and they start squatting.

We live in south Texas! The weather has been really warm and has just now started to cool off a bit. The only one whose comb has reddened is my blue copper maran. I’ll try to be patient lol!

 

[TooCheep]

As long as they are healthy, they'll lay when they are ready. You can not rush them, only delay them via poor treatment/nutrition.

You are correct about handling mixed flocks with grower + calcium on the side. Frankly, I've given up on layer feed entirely due to mixed age flocks. I now give them all-flock + calcium all the time. Keep treats to about 10% of food.

PS- It would be helpful when we answer questions if you had your general location displayed. You can add it in your profile.

 

[Squawkers]

We live in south Texas! The weather has been really warm and has just now started to cool off a bit. The only one whose comb has reddened is my blue copper maran. I’ll try to be patient lol!

I’m in central Texas! My chickens that are ready to lay around this time always have. I’ve never had one wait until spring. I always assumed that was because of my location.

 

[Ridgerunner]

None have start laying yet, am I being impatient or am I doing something else wrong?

You are not doing anything wrong. Each pullet is an individual. Some lay earlier, some later. I've had a couple that started laying at 16 weeks, a bit too early for my preferences. I prefer them to be a little more mature. The latest I've had was nine months old. That was really strange, I had two that started laying early December when the days were shortest. The breeder I got them from was really surprised, she thought they should have been laying by 5 to 6 months of age. Hers typically were. Mine normally are. But not those two.

You often read on here that certain breeds start laying at a certain age. That's on average so you need enough of that breed for averages to mean something. One individual can be early or late, so if you only have one or two it's more luck than anything else if you happen to have an early one or a late one.

The normal cycle for egg laying is that they lay eggs in the spring and summer, then when the days get shorter in the fall they stop laying and use the nutrients that was going into making eggs to molt. They replace worn-out feathers to get ready for winter. The signal to them to stop laying and start molting is day length, the days get shorter. Some hens will start laying again whenever the molt is over, some will wait until days get longer on the spring. You should expect every one of them to molt next fall.

This year is something else though. If your pullets start laying this fall (I expect most will) they will probably continue to lay all winter and through summer until they molt next fall. It is possible some will not lay until the days get longer in the spring. You just never know.

We have 4 (10 week old) hens and they live in the same coop with the older hens. All of the chickens free range about 8hrs daily. I throw layer feed mixed with scratch in the yard for them to nibble on periodically, however inside the coop I only put out chick starter feed and a bowl of oyster shell. I did this based on different things I read online when feeding a mixed flock.

Pullets or hens laying eggs need a lot of calcium for their shells. They can get that from the oyster shells. Too much calcium can harm growing chicks. If they were eating nothing but the Layer (which is high calcium) that could be enough to cause kidney or liver problems. But yours are not only eating Layer. The total amount of calcium they are getting each day should be well below harmful levels with the Starter, Scratch, and foraging while free ranging.

I do not see the benefit from the Layer. Scattering it on the ground in inefficient. Layer does not contain anything that will start them laying. They will get whatever nutrition they need to lay when they do start laying from foraging and the Starter.