no eggs yet!?!?!?

[farmergalmaine]

I got my chickens and ducks the last week of May 2012 as day olds and still don't have any eggs from any of my ladies yet? Its getting very frusterating! Anyone else have this issue?

 

[donrae]

Need more info.

What kinds of chickens are they? Are you positive they're hens? Do they free range?

 

[farmergalmaine]

11 are hens 3 roosters. Ive got 3 Easter egged hens, and then one of each of the following breeds: buff orpington, australorp, white leghorn, silver laced wyandotte, speckled sussex, Plymouth rock, and welsummer. All three roosters are Easter eggers. My ducks are Welsh Harlequins. They have a pen that's appx 160 square feet that they can go in and out of day or night to free range (chickens). The ducks don't free range. The chickens and ducks have about quarter of a bale of hay each to scratch around in. The chickens eat about 50# of layer crumbles a week. Not sure bout the ducks I don't keep track of theirs just dump feed in their feeder daily.

 

[farmergalmaine]

And a barred rock hen. today I put a store bought egg in each nest box with a dot on it to see if that would get them laying. They get table scraps but its not measured maybe a pound or two a week... I just counted they're 25 weeks... so I guess its not terribly bizarre...

 

[donrae]

I'll bet they're laying somewhere in the yard or wherever they range. The don't know they're "supposed" to lay in the nice nest box, their little brains tell them to hide their eggs from predators. You can try confining them to the run for a few days and see if you start getting eggs.

 

[cracked egg]

I keep a few plastic Easter eggs in the nest boxes year round. Some birds will lay where they are supposed to,others don't. Usually I'll go out and listen for the "just laid a egg" cluck and then go find the hen and hopefully the nest. I have found them under sheds,in cardboard boxes,weed patches and colverts. Seems once they start laying where they are supposed to they will continue to. The new laying hens are the worse at first.

 

[farmergalmaine]

they havent been laying in their run (i check it daily) the only other thing i can think of is if they started laying underneith the nest boxes... i bought my first coop (the one they're in) and it's built strangly lol... the nest boxes are on the inside with their own door and there's no people door... i guess im gunna have to just climb in the coop and investigate... Their next BIG coop will have a LOT of modifications to it!