No eggs at 28.5 weeks...

[GulfBamaChick]

I have 28.5 week red sex-links(5), and a black sex-link roo. I also have 18 wk old EEs (2), Cochins (2), and BJGs(2). Out of all of these, only one girl is laying 5/7, and one is laying 3/7days. The other reds are not laying at all

. Here is how I raise them. They free range on 1/2 acre (no place to hide eggs) and have PLENTY of calcium as I live on the gulf coast and get free Oyster shells and just boil and bash them. The eggs they lay are not soft at all, nice and thick shells, and also they get dinner scraps or treats at the end of the day. They ignore the coop and sleep in the trees, and only go in there to lay. They seem VERY happy. I live in lower AL and have wonderful soil full of bugs and worms, and perfect for dust baths. They could easily leave the yard but never do. In fact when they accidentally have gotten over the fence, they immediately panic and dart back over into the yard. I do have a dog, he chases them once or twice a day but just a little run through the flock, nothing crazy, they sit together fine most of the time. He mostly chases the younger ones before I give him a swift kick then he is over it. They LOVE me. They have plenty of fun places to dig and perch. So WHYYYYYYYYY are they being so stingy with the goods?

 

[lightchick]

Are you sure that there's no place to hide eggs? I only found out my sex link was laying when she had to be locked in the coop all day! The next day I followed her to a nest with five eggs in it.

 

[GulfBamaChick]

I have a perfectly square back yard with literally NO hiding places at all. I can see ALL of the nooks and crannies. They have places to “hide” them but none I can’t easily see.

 

[GulfBamaChick]

bump

 

[evemfoster]

I have a perfectly square back yard with literally NO hiding places at all. I can see ALL of the nooks and crannies. They have places to “hide” them but none I can’t easily see.

The chickens sound healthy enough and should be laying by now. This is a long shot but i wonder if the treats are making the chickens too fat. Chickens won't lay if they are fat... Treats should be no more than 10% of their feed unless its greens.

But as old Mr. Draper told me some hens never lay but make fine soup.

 

[evemfoster]

By the way no need to 'bump'. Because you started the thread you are subscribed and reply's will show up automatically in the subscriptions menu on the top right corner of the page.

 

[Kelsie2290]

That is odd that 3/5 RSLs of that age aren't laying and 3/7 days is less than I would expect for the 4th. X2 I would be looking for hidden nests in odd places, could they be squeezing under a building or into something somewhere determined hens can get into incredibly tiny spaces... if they can leave the yard would also wonder about them having a nest somewhere outside. Could a predator be getting the eggs if they are laying out of the coop, the dog? Have you tried locking them up for a couple of days and see if they lay? Are they on a regular commercial Layer food? You are sure they are RSLs?

 

[GulfBamaChick]

I need to stress that there is NO WAY they are hiding eggs. I work from home and I can see them from the window most of the day. There is no place in the yard I cannot easily investigate. They don’t go into other yards, there are little dogs in each surrounding yard. I am 110% positive on the laying situation. I do feed them treats, but they are not fat. I eat a pretty healthy diet so they mostly get lean protein treats or leafy greens as a treat, and not until the end of the day (just meal scraps from our dinner). But I ABSOLUTELY KNOW they are not laying secretly.

 

[Frizzlett98]

I have 15 hens and only 1 is laying. Some are a bit too young but my others are late. So frustrating! You an check their pelvic bones like I do. Sort of below their vent, or on the sides depending on how close they are to laying, there are 2 prominent bones. If they are close together, they're not ready to lay. If they're at least 2 finger's width apart, you can expect eggs very soon. The one hen I have laying started 2 days ago. I had checked her pelvic bones and sure enough, over 2 finger's width apart and the next day, I got my first egg and the second one yesterday. Hope yours lay soon!

 

[SunkenRoadFarms]

I need to stress that there is NO WAY they are hiding eggs. I work from home and I can see them from the window most of the day. There is no place in the yard I cannot easily investigate. They don’t go into other yards, there are little dogs in each surrounding yard. I am 110% positive on the laying situation. I do feed them treats, but they are not fat. I eat a pretty healthy diet so they mostly get lean protein treats or leafy greens as a treat, and not until the end of the day (just meal scraps from our dinner). But I ABSOLUTELY KNOW they are not laying secretly. 

Predators might be an issue. Snakes will eat eggs whole. My neighbor had this problem. He thought they just weren't laying (they are confined to a coop and run) until he caught 6 juvenile rat snakes raiding the nest boxes and eating 8 out of 10 or so eggs a day.