No eggs yet????

[blacklab]

My 21 week old Lavendar orpingtons and bieldefelders still aren’t laying. Is this unusual? They have their own coop and nesting boxes. However they share two covered runs with our older hens. The older hens sometimes visit the newer ones’ coop and use their nesting boxes. The younger hens are still a bit intimidated by the older hens when it comes to food but otherwise everyone gets along great! Are the littles too scared to go in to their boxes ? If so wouldn’t they just lay in the run??

 

[Briarhopper Ranch]

My 21 week old Lavendar orpingtons and bieldefelders still aren’t laying. Is this unusual? They have their own coop and nesting boxes. However they share two covered runs with our older hens. The older hens sometimes visit the newer ones’ coop and use their nesting boxes. The younger hens are still a bit intimidated by the older hens when it comes to food but otherwise everyone gets along great! Are the littles too scared to go in to their boxes ? If so wouldn’t they just lay in the run??

I can’t speak for the lavender Orpington, but I I do have Bielefelders. Twenty-one weeks to lay an egg would be an exceptionally tender age for such a heavy breed to lay. Bielis are late bloomers in the egg department. Twenty-eight weeks is a reasonable time to lay for a Bielefelder, though others may chime in who have waited even longer.

 

[blacklab]

Thank you so much for that information! I feel better knowing that about the bielis! I will try to be patient!!

 

[thecatumbrella]

Twenty-eight weeks is a reasonable time to lay for a Bielefelder, though others may chime in who have waited even longer.

None myself, but I've heard someone else's took closer to 8 months!

 

[Briarhopper Ranch]

“The waiting is the hardest part.” - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

 

[blacklab]

“The waiting is the hardest part.” - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

Yes! Always is!

 

[Mother of Chaos]

My 21 week old Lavendar orpingtons and bieldefelders still aren’t laying. Is this unusual? They have their own coop and nesting boxes. However they share two covered runs with our older hens. The older hens sometimes visit the newer ones’ coop and use their nesting boxes. The younger hens are still a bit intimidated by the older hens when it comes to food but otherwise everyone gets along great! Are the littles too scared to go in to their boxes ? If so wouldn’t they just lay in the run??

My Orp didn't start laying until a few weeks older than yours.

• Are your girls squatting? (crouching down if you act like you're going to pat their back or pick them up)
• Have their combs and wattles started growing more quickly, and are they bright red or nearly so? (<- this is the big indicator)
• Do they explore their nest boxes? (piddling around, moving the nest bedding around, "playing house")
• Do you have fake eggs or golf balls in the nest boxes?

I'd consider trying to block the older hens (somehow) from the pullets' nest boxes. My blended flock of 3 older + 2 younger no longer fuss over the coop, but the older ones raise holy heck if the youngers are present at laying time. They've gotten quite territorial about nesting locations. (The younger ones are still easily a month+ away from laying.)

 

[blacklab]

My Orp didn't start laying until a few weeks older than yours.

• Are your girls squatting? (crouching down if you act like you're going to pat their back or pick them up)
• Have their combs and wattles started growing more quickly, and are they bright red or nearly so? (<- this is the big indicator)
• Do they explore their nest boxes? (piddling around, moving the nest bedding around, "playing house")
• Do you have fake eggs or golf balls in the nest boxes?

I'd consider trying to block the older hens (somehow) from the pullets' nest boxes. My blended flock of 3 older + 2 younger no longer fuss over the coop, but the older ones raise holy heck if the youngers are present at laying time. They've gotten quite territorial about nesting locations. (The younger ones are still easily a month+ away from laying.)

We do have fake eggs in the nests. Their combs are getting redder but not bigger. All the chickens go back and forth between both coops and nesting boxes so blocking isn’t really easy. The older hens are using both now! Oh brother!! Each flock does go to their “home” coop to roost though. I’ve not had one squat yet, so maybe I’m just being impatient! Waiting is hard. The older hens are a mix of buffs and Easter eggers and I guess I just forgot how long it takes. Thanks!

 

[Mother of Chaos]

We do have fake eggs in the nests. Their combs are getting redder but not bigger. All the chickens go back and forth between both coops and nesting boxes so blocking isn’t really easy. The older hens are using both now! Oh brother!! Each flock does go to their “home” coop to roost though. I’ve not had one squat yet, so maybe I’m just being impatient! Waiting is hard. The older hens are a mix of buffs and Easter eggers and I guess I just forgot how long it takes. Thanks!

You're very welcome! And what I meant by bigger is that my girls' combs had started getting slowly bigger and still pale pink when they were younger, but then suddenly seemed to get visibly bigger every day. And turn red, of course.

Another factor might be that the days are growing noticeably shorter (in the Northern Hemisphere), and so their hormones might not be triggered quite as early as late spring-early summer layers are. Hmm. I'll have to keep that in mind with my younger two...

 

[DSJMHenDen]

My lavender orpington started at just over 25 weeks. She was the last of my 6 spring chicks to lay (all different breeds). Seems like they lay when they lay, but I personally like to hear others experiences....just to make the anticipation that much worse