My chickens are mating but no eggs 🥚

[emilythestrange]

I have silkies which were last years young
Then I purchased silkies in February from a lady who said they were laying? Obvious lie!
The chickens have definitely grown since I have had them and my rooster is mating definitely with one of them and trying with the other. I can’t believe I’ve not had any eggs yet ! Is there anything I can do?

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

Just because they're mating doesn't mean they'll lay eggs. There's nothing you can do. Silkies also tend to lay late, generally around a year old.

Are you sure they're females?

 

[Aapomp831]

Have you checked for a hidden nest?
Mating and laying eggs are unrelated - they will mate whether they are laying or not.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You are north of the equator so it's unlikely they are molting. If they were you'd see a lot of feathers floating around.

A very common reason you think they are not laying but they are is that they are hiding a nest from you. I recently read a post from someone that just found a nest with a broody hen in their coop that they thought she (the hen) had been eaten. They can be very good at hiding nests and it looks like yours have a marvelous area to roam.

If most critters are eating the eggs they tend to leave signs. In the UK the critters that are most likely to take eggs without leaving signs are snakes, canines, and humans. If it is consistent it's not a snake, they don't work that way. A fox would probably be more interested in your chickens, so not a fox. A dog will sometimes eat eggs but not bother chickens. Does a dog have access. A human doesn't necessarily mean a thief, some people think a practical joke like this is funny.

I think the first thing I'd do is check their vents. If the vent is soft and moist she is laying or real close to. If it is dry and tight she is not laying. Once you see the difference it is really easy to tell. I expect this is what you will find, a dry tight vent.

If the vent is soft and moist, I think you have two options. Can you lock the hens in the coop only or the coop/run for a couple of days. If you see eggs she is either hiding a nest from you or you locked out an egg eater. Or you can mark an egg and put it out there. If it disappears something is getting them.

Good luck, this kind of stuff can be really frustrating.

 

[emilythestrange]

I found my first egg today (posted in egg laying and hatching thread)