How old and how long??

[kylie chooka]

Hi, Im totally new at this whole chicken thing..... I have 6 brown hens we bought them apparently at laying age , but I'm not so sure...
we have had them 10 days and havent yet got an egg... I have kept them in the coop to know where home is....but I think they are ready to come out . But because they havent started laying yet im worried they wont know to lay in the nesting boxes when they start?? Any suggestions on these 2 questions ?

 

[QueenMisha]

After 10 days, they are plenty ready to come out. Birds usually only require 1-3 days of in-coop isolation.

Lots of factors play into laying. Age, molt, weather, nutrition, and stress are some these. Can you tell me what the temps are like your area and what you are feeding them?

Were they sold as laying or as point of lay? "Point of lay" can be anywhere from 5-7 months or so. It can either refer to a pullet who should be laying within a month or two, or a pullet who only first began to lay within the previous month or two. Laying, on the other hand, means they should already be laying. It's possible your girls are only point of lay, which means they should begin laying with another couple weeks on into a month or even two, depending on exact age. It's also possible the sellers lied to you, and the birds are older. Check to see if any of your girls are molting - losing lots of feathers or covered in pin feathers. If they are, they are at least 1 year of age, and a cease of laying during molt is normal. Extremely high temps, extremely low temps, and lots of weather fluctuations can also result in a lack of eggs, as can stress caused by new environments or nearby predators (as well as being moved to a new home - although yours should be about over that now).

They should lay in the nesting boxes. You can add ceramic or wooden eggs to encourage them to do so.

 

[kylie chooka]

Thankyou !! They were sold at point of lay so yes they may be a few weeks and the comb isn't that big. I am in Queensland so the weather is beautiful 24-27 degrees and they are feed the mix we bought from the seller with seeds grains corn grit etc along with plenty of fruit scraps green food scraps the odd bit of porridge (no sugar) and loads of weeds which they love!!! They are eating very well. I also have been shovelling fresh dirt in regulaly for them to pick through after I have cleaned out the coop. I guess I was just worried about getting them back in the coop and making sure they lay eggs in the nest. Also Im finding them sleeping in their nesting boxes GRRRR!

 

[QueenMisha]

Sounds like your girls are perfectly healthy, happy point of lay hen's. You should have them laying within the next month or so, most likely. If you can, try to close off the nesting boxes for a while; until they start sleeping on the roosts. It should take a week or two. You can take it off during the day, if you think they are very close to laying, and replace it at night as well.