Pullets not laying?

[ChasesChickens]

Hi everyone.. I've got my first flock from various breeders .. they are 23 to 25 weeks now.. and only two lay eggs ..out of 14!
I have a plymoth barred rock, a light sussex, a buff sussex, old english game, ancona, araucana, 2 barnevelders , 2 blue leghorns , a silver kaced wyandotte, a welsummer and an easter egger. Only the esster egger and the old english game has started laying.. but i found the OEG has gone broody and the esster egger is laying cream eggs!!! Lol.
It's just the first day of autumn in Syd at but the days are still getting about 13 hours sunlight .
Are my hens just maturing late.. I'm getting so worried ..

 

[sloanbychoice]

Some hens start later.
What are you feeding?
Do they have a couple of nesting boxes?

 

[aart]

How long have you had them?

 

[Jedstar]

They will lay soon enough. What feed are they on. Are they on a layer mix. Also looks like you might have couple of roosters. Those 2 grey or blue Leghorns.

 

[Jedstar]

Do have any pics of the Plymouth rock.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

Yes, don’t worry, they will lay. I used to fret over it. I learned, other than, perhaps giving lights on a timer...and better feed...all flock....giving them oyster shells...nice grit, and a nice play for a dirt bath...just to keep them nice and happy...there’s little you can do. Also giving nice yummy treats can help..nice veggies...but, it’s go guarantee. They lay when the6 lay. Good luck!!

 

[Jedstar]

Looks like that Plymouth rock might be a rooster aswell

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'n not sure how many of those are actually pullets but 2 laying at that age isn't horrible, though I'd hope for more pretty soon with those breeds. Reading some posts on here you might get the idea that every pullet of a certain breed starts to lay at exactly the same age, not even close. Each pullet is an individual and will start to lay when she starts. I've had some (Ameraucana) that did not start to lay until they were 9 months old, the breeder I got them from couldn't believe it. But some of their daughters started laying around 20 weeks, more in line with what the breeder expected. I have no clue what happened.

I don't know how your hatcheries work it in Australia or where you got those chicks. In the US hatchery chicks tend to lay a little earlier than chicks from breeders, depending on what the breeders are breeding for. Some people may imagine all kinds of dire sinister plots to that, but it's simply the way they manage them. Breeders may be breeding for something other than early laying. In a hatchery the ones that start laying earlier get more eggs hatched so the general movement is both earlier laying and laying more eggs since the ones that lay the most eggs have more chicks hatch.

In any case I'd expect more of your pullets to start laying soon, it is about time. When they do start I'd expect most of them to continue to lay all through your winter and until next fall when they will stop laying during the molt.

 

[ChasesChickens]

I'n not sure how many of those are actually pullets but 2 laying at that age isn't horrible, though I'd hope for more pretty soon with those breeds. Reading some posts on here you might get the idea that every pullet of a certain breed starts to lay at exactly the same age, not even close. Each pullet is an individual and will start to lay when she starts. I've had some (Ameraucana) that did not start to lay until they were 9 months old, the breeder I got them from couldn't believe it. But some of their daughters started laying around 20 weeks, more in line with what the breeder expected. I have no clue what happened.

I don't know how your hatcheries work it in Australia or where you got those chicks. In the US hatchery chicks tend to lay a little earlier than chicks from breeders, depending on what the breeders are breeding for. Some people may imagine all kinds of dire sinister plots to that, but it's simply the way they manage them. Breeders may be breeding for something other than early laying. In a hatchery the ones that start laying earlier get more eggs hatched so the general movement is both earlier laying and laying more eggs since the ones that lay the most eggs have more chicks hatch.

In any case I'd expect more of your pullets to start laying soon, it is about time. When they do start I'd expect most of them to continue to lay all through your winter and until next fall when they will stop laying during the molt.

Thanks so much.
I got the idea that the bigger the bird breed the longer it takes gereally to start. Compou ded tk this some girls are looking like boys!

I'm just checking the best boxes now like a patient father. Lol

 

[Duckfarmer1]

We understand, our 36 hens are only giving us 27 eggs a day...drives my hubby crazy. I’m not stressing over it. What can you do? We’ve got the lights, the feed, the oyster shells, grit, etc....every once in awhilt I do find about 8eggs up in our garage where I keep my wood shavings! Crazy chickens