No Eggs Yet!

[GollumsBrother]

Cleaned my coop and run out today. I've now had my 5 hens for 6 days. Still no eggs....am I just being impatient? How long till I get an egg!? I'm not sure they even go in to the nest box in the coop!!! I've put 2 golf balls in the nest box but the hay is still clean after 6 days!!

Any tips are welcome.

 

[DaddyBird]

How old are they were they laying before? Sometimes the stress will make them stop. We had a dog attack that killed 5 of 8 and after we replaced the birds, egg production dropped to nothing while everyone acclimated to each other.it has been almost two weeks and they are just now starting again. It may just be the stress from the relocation.

 

[GollumsBrother]

They're new birds and they are now only 16 weeks old! I don't think they were laying before I got them!?

 

[sweetsilence83]

Our chickens stopped laying right after we introduced 5 new ducks, the ducks didn't start laying until 2-3 months after we got them. I wouldn't worry they are probably just getting used to their new surroundings. When our first chicken stared laying you defiantly knew it, the proud chicken was hollering her achievement for five minutes clucking and strutting, my other girls are the same way to this day.

 

[MalMom]

If they are only 16 weeks and weren't laying before it could take weeks for them to lay still. Mine are 21 weeks and haven't started laying yet and I've had them since they were two weeks old. That being said your could start laying before mine. I read on here someone who had a hen who was almost a year before it started laying.

 

[sweetsilence83]

Mine were about 9.5 months old before they laid their first eggs. And the first egg for most of our chickens didn't have a hard shell, it was more like a leathery sack. I just tossed those but after a little practice I got plenty og real eggs.

 

[DaddyBird]

Mostbreeds don't lay until weeks 20-26 on average but some of the production birds will start as early as 17-19.