How long do you wait for chicken to lay?

[thchickens]

We have 4 hens. 3 are consistant egg layers, even through winter. we got them all March 2010. One of the hens has never laid for us. we have seperated her out to see if she'll lay. all the others will but not her. She is healthy, eats well and is so very friendly. How often do you end up with a hen that just wont lay eggs ever? should we wait longer or a year long enough to know?

 

[<3ChickenForever]

depends.. what breed is she??

 

[bluere11e]

There are some breeds that are bred for egg production. These lay about 250-300 eggs annually. Some of the older breeds and show type breeds are more "seasonal"
It also depends on the time of year, moult cycle and are they going broody (wanting to setle down and start incubating)?
What breed is the one that isn't doing her fair share?

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

I wait until they lay

Some take longer than others to get going.

 

[<3ChickenForever]

Quote:
X2

 

[Sorin]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one with this problem. I have a bantam Cochin about 9 months old that I have not gotten an egg from yet! I know Cochins aren't the best layers, and with her coming to laying age at the star of winter I just figured I wouldn't see an egg from her until spring.

 

[lsv313]

I had to wait 9 months for one of mine, 8 for another. The earliest I had was 24 weeks. The ones I had to wait the longest for started out with the biggest eggs though, and have become great layers. Sometimes they're just late bloomers

 

[thchickens]

she is a red comet along with the others we have.

Jsut figured it was wierd since the 3 others have been constant, 3 eggs every day for monthes. And she has yet to get started and is 12 monthes old. she has never been ill, eats, she does seem lowest in the pecking order the she tends to be the follower of group. She is the sweetest so hoping, there was something we could do for her or was being impatiannce , since getting new chicks soon, DH says if she does not start we need to think about culling her and replacing her for a layer.

 

[Barry Natchitoches]

I have an Ameraucana hen who is almost two years old now.


In that almost 2 years of life, she has never laid a single egg. To make sure she was not laying (and not just laying light brown eggs instead), we isolated her for about a week, and she never laid once. We've never seen her sitting on a nest, either, even though we see the other girls use the nest quite often.