No eggs! 27-28 week chicks

freechicks36

In the Brooder
Jun 27, 2019
3
12
24
I'm a new member and new chicken mom. I'm a mom to 6 human children and now 5 chickens! (And i want more!). I have 3 Orpington and 2 brown leghorns. NOBODY has layed an egg yet. I fed them purina scratch & purina laying crumbles. We live in Florida close to the beach (not like walking distance but within 10 miles) so our yard has tons of shell in it, so i opted not to buy oyster shells because they're already in our soil as well as lots of other crunched up, small shells. They get live meal worms once a week sometimes twice, dried meal worms at least twice a week, super worms once a week, all. The. Table. Scraps. (Except anything not healthy for them) and we (a family of 8) have table scraps, lots of them. What am I not doing? Are they too young still? What should I add to their diet? They have a whole shed for a coop with many nesting boxes. I keep their shed clean, water is always clean and readily available. I feel like I almost spoil them with too much "treats" (mealworms, etc.)but I want to make sure they're healthy & happy(never thought I'd love my chickens like family ). They all seem happy, they all have they're own likes and dislikes & temperaments. I don't know what I'm doing wrong!!?? Please help!
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There's not too many places to hide in the yard. But i will check a few possibilities. Thank you! And what do chickens who are laying look like vs not laying?
 
Diet might be deficient in vitamins/minerals/amino acids...
...too many foods other than the layer feed.
But they all look pretty 'red in the head'.
Might check pelvic points:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

Then maybe....
Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop for a week or so can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. Fake eggs/golf balls in the nests can help 'show' them were to lay. They can be confined to coop and maybe run 24/7 for a few days to a week, provided you have adequate space and ventilation, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it. ..at least for a good while, then repeat as necessary.
 

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