I have three hens all around 5 months old. One of my hens (I assume it is Terry) has been laying for about a week and a half now, I have recovered 8 eggs. My other hens have not laid a single egg. Is this maybe because different ducks lay at different times? The hen that is laying is much bigger and matured and feathered about two weeks faster than these hens also. Any insights you have would be helpful.
Sure, it's perfectly normal. They all mature at slightly different times just as humans do -- my neighbor's 14 year old grandson already looks like he could grow a full beard and mustache if he wanted to. I didn't have to start shaving daily until I was a sophomore in college. They'll all start laying by the time they're about 7 months old at the absolutely latest. Duck eggs are the best for baking.
They probably will start laying soon enough. If they free range check around for other nests ducks are great hiders of there nests.
Of my eleven runners, someone started laying about a month ago, and now we have four or five steady layers, and a few who are just starting up, and I don't expect Elfie to start laying until about a month after everyone else is on board, based on her rate of development. It has given me time to get geared up, as I expect that at the height of laying season, we will receive eight eggs a day.
