Should I expect these hens to ever lay?

[jennifer0224]

Hi there, i have a question i am hoping someone more experienced can answer.

6 of my 8 hens have been laying for a good couple of months now.

But i have 2 who have never laid - they are both 30-week old Easter Eggers. THIRTY! i have read about hens taking up to 30 weeks to lay, but if they do not start laying in the next week, what are the chances that they ever will? At what point should i (sadly) replace them?

Thanks! - Jennifer

p.s. I DO think one of my Welsumers has fowl pox which i just noticed today, but that seems to be isolated so far and has not affected our flock's production so i dont think it is related.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The answer to your first question is,. yes, you should expect them to lay eventually.

Birds maturing in Autumn or Winter may be quite delayed in commencement. It is the shortening days vs. lengthening that makes the difference.
To take the mystery out of it, here's a brief rundown of the science.
Light exposure to the retina is first relayed to the nucleus of the hypothalamus, an area of the brain that coordinates biological clock signals. Fibers from there descend to the spinal cord and then project to the superior cervical ganglia, from which neurons ascend back to the pineal gland. The pineal gland translates signals from the nervous system into a hormonal signal.

The gland produces serotonin and subsequently, melatonin. That's the hormone that affects the gonads for sperm production and ovulation in females. An increase in melatonin causes the gonads to become inactive. As photoperiod in relation to day vs. night is the most important clue for animals to determine season. As light lengthens, the gonads are rejuvenated. The duration of melatonin secretion each day is directly proportional to the length of the night because of the pineal gland's ability to measure daylength. Besides reproduction, it also affects sleep timing and blood pressure regulation.

 

[jennifer0224]

Okay, I see. So it sounds like they are taking slightly longer than my other hens to reach maturity and that has taken them into Autumn / shorter days which may delay things even further. Okay, I will continue to be patient then! Thank you for such a detailed reaponse!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I had a lot of pullets hatched this spring that took a long time to become sexually mature. It wasn't till I added some morning light to the coop did they start laying.

 

[aart]

Are you positive they are not laying?
Not all EE lay blue/green......and you will only rarely get 8 eggs from 8 hens on the same day.

Fowl pox is caused by a virus, no way to treat and dry pox on comb/wattles will usually pass with no complications unless it gets into their mouth/throat/sinus(wet pox).

 

[mymilliefleur]

Are you positive they are not laying?
Not all EE lay blue/green......and you will only rarely get 8 eggs from 8 hens on the same day.

Fowl pox is caused by a virus, no way to treat and dry pox on comb/wattles will usually pass with no complications unless it gets into their mouth/throat/sinus(wet pox).

X2, my thoughts exactly, and could they be hiding their eggs some where? Are their combs red?

 

[blumenmadchen]

My EEs only started laying last week at 32 weeks. One is laying mint green eggs (so it was easy to tell) and the other seems to be laying pink eggs (which I had originally attributed to my BO who lays light tan eggs). The eggs will come

 

[mymilliefleur]

Another thing, EE's tend to mature slowly, mine don't start laying until 32-36 weeks.

 

[arabbie1]

The long & short of it is: When mature enough, & enough daylight, they will lay!!