i need some advise because MY CHICKENS HATE ME!!!!

[hildymarie]

I just read somewhere that if you feed them fruit they wont lay for like 6 weeks. Dont know why. Maybe chedk on what they are eating.

 

[crazyhen]

My Buffs were 26 weeks before they layed. They are big LF hens and it does take their bodies awhile to mature. Your chickens do not hate you. LOL. Mine are so gentle now. I love these hens. In fact I am starting a whole flock of the Orpingtons. I have some Blue and Buff and splashes so far. They are beautiful gentle birds. I get 7 to 9 eggs from 9 girls. My lovely ladies. I also feed fruit occ. as I have it. I can not tell any difference in the egg laying.
Hens that are born in the spring take longer to lay. The day length has a lot to do with it. This is actually an advantage for the hens as they will be more mature and have less prolapses from their egg laying later on. Enjoy your ladies. Gloria Jean

 

[Pick-a-LilyFarm]

I guess I got lucky...my buff orps have starting laying at 19 weeks. Could be the quality of feed you feed them. I was purchasing their feed from Agway, and then one day stopped into Blue Seal and purchased a bag of their feed, and they were totally different. Both were grower feed. The differences in the appearance made me take a look at the ingredients on the label. Agway uses bakery fillers in their feed, Blue Seal doesn't. It costs a little more, but I only want to feed my girls the best. My girls aren't even on layer feed yet...I have different aged birds together and want them all to be old enough before switching them over to layer. I also feed them scratch feed, veggies (mostly tomatoes and zucchini) and sometimes on rare occasions yogurt. They also free range for 4 hours a day. I hope yours start laying

soon!!

 

[M To The Maxx]

She doesn't hate you. I'm sure she will be laying soon. She knows when she is ready.

 

[jjthink]

Ditto the above post. It's not about you, but I'm sure you know that.

Relax. Be patient. Buy some eggs at a farm where chickens are treated wonderfully. Make some chocolate brownies with them and eat the brownies

. Give lots of love and expect nothing. She'll eventually make some eggs and if the very unlikely happens and she doesn't, find someone who will be happy to have her around regardless.
All will be well.

JJ

 

[L*A*G*]

those of you who guess i am feeding them wrong, here is their routine.
as soon as daylight i let them out and feed them dumor layer 16%.
i do give them any chicken safe table scraps and a lil scratch treat scattered on the ground. they say that happy hens lay better so i let them out to range 1 hour before dark. then they roost in the coop themselves and i lock'em up until daylight.
yep yep that is it.

 

[PortageGirl]

Nah, they lay if eating fruit, I was told by a couple old tyme chichen keepers that too many apples (or other fruit) were bad for em, but now I'm convinced by all the feedback here that the real reason for that tale is, if they get TOO MUCH fruit, or really, too much of any treats, they eat less higher protein feed so they lay less is all. Just do moderate treats, don't be dumping a whole tub of fruit or anything in there is all.

I am now boosting their protein with some flock raiser since they're molting, to get them back to normal times quicker, but sometimes it just takes a while.

don't worry, your chickens don't hate you.

 

[mdbokc]

Mine get fruit every day. Enough that they walk away from it after awhile to go scratch for bugs. Never a slowdown in eggs because of that here.

 

[mstricer]

L*A*G* :

those of you who guess i am feeding them wrong, here is their routine.
as soon as daylight i let them out and feed them dumor layer 16%.
i do give them any chicken safe table scraps and a lil scratch treat scattered on the ground. they say that happy hens lay better so i let them out to range 1 hour before dark. then they roost in the coop themselves and i lock'em up until daylight.
yep yep that is it.

I cant let my BO's out untill after around 11 am the later the better. some of mine are still laying at 5pm. I started doing that when I found 2 nest one of 11 eggs and one of 15 eggs.
they all seem to be laying in boxes. Mine started laying at around 19 wks.​

 

[KMHunter]

L*A*G* :

those of you who guess i am feeding them wrong, here is their routine.
as soon as daylight i let them out and feed them dumor layer 16%.
i do give them any chicken safe table scraps and a lil scratch treat scattered on the ground. they say that happy hens lay better so i let them out to range 1 hour before dark. then they roost in the coop themselves and i lock'em up until daylight.
yep yep that is it.

You are doing things just fine. My BO was the last of mine to lay. I also think that the shorter days are playing a part in the laying too. I have two younger girls that aren't laying yet, and I am not sure when they will. They are at "that age" but don't seem quite ready. Just keep doing what you are doing and she will lay.