October Chicks...Longer till laying?

[mikey shaw]

Hi all- I have 4 pullets, 2 BR, 1 RIR, 1 BO. They are 21 weeks old. Hatched middle of October. Do winter chicks usually take longer to start laying because of the shorter days, ect.?

 

[PrairieChickens]

I got a batch of chicks in September and they all started laying right on schedule--even early, in a few cases. It depends on their breeding and environmental factors. If you're not seeing eggs yet, it should be very soon. Make sure they're not hiding them from you! lol

 

[mikey shaw]

Ha! I'm not sure they can. I only let them out of their run a little each day. And I keep a casual eye on them. Hopefully the nice california sun gets those eggs a comin'!

 

[PrairieChickens]

You'd be surprised! I've found eggs hidden all over the place, including in the coop and run. Once, I was dismantling a pen I'd used to keep an aggressive rooster in, and I found 24 eggs stashed INSIDE the pen! The girls found a gap somewhere and were sneaking in to lay their eggs. Of course, I have a larger coop and run than most, so if you say there's no place to hide eggs in yours, I believe you! lol

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you. Good luck!

 

[mikey shaw]

Thanks! I'll definitely keep my eyes open

 

[crazyfeathers]

My sneaky hens bury them in the shavings, of course I don't find them until I step on them lol. Good luck on your egg hunt.

 

[HaleyAnn19]

I don't think you should worry about it. I got my hen somewhere in July of 2013 and she just started laying a few weeks ago. I was concerned at first and worried constantly, but lookie now. My hen is perfectly normal and she laid her first egg in the nesting area<3 Just keep on waiting!

 

[Serenity Sav]

I have 2 pullets from October 23 and they haven't laid yet either. Could be soon, could be a while longer. But with the sunny days we've had in Cali lately, I'll bet we'll have them laying sooner than later.

 

[fairfieldvtchix]

Mine were hatched October 1st and started laying about two weeks ago. Some haven't laid any yet, some daily.
It will happen soon!!

 

[Chickadee-23]

I had some chicks that hatched out october 7 and they havn't layed any eggs yet either, but i know they are close they been squating so hopefully soon we will all have eggs from our october hatchlings