Personally I'd have already had those nests open for a while to find out if they are going to sleep in them or not. I'd prefer to know that before I got poopy eggs so I could fix the problem before they start laying. I don't know what you achieve by leaving the nests closed except maybe train them to lay somewhere other than the nests. If I'm going to have a problem I want to know so I can fix it.
Some Orpington pullets start laying at 16 weeks but that's only a few. Some might wait nine months or more. It's not like every Orpington in the world starts laying at exactly the same age. It just doesn't work that way.
I've had pullets lay their first eggs the first week of December, the shortest days of the year. I've had some wait until the longer days of spring. Many start in late fall when the days are getting shorter. Each one is different. The only way you will know when they will start to lay is when you see an egg.
You can write a book on feeding our backyard chickens. A lot of that would be opinion. I'll try to keep it short but it does have many parts. I'll try to give you my opinions on it.
If you look at the label on the feed it should have an analysis that tells you percent of various nutrients. Layer should have a calcium percent close to 4%. All other feeds should be around 1% calcium. If layer feed is all they eat that should contain enough calcium for hard egg shells. If the eat a lot of low-calcium treats or forage for a lot of what they eat it may not be enough. It's not what is in one bite that matters. It's how many total grams of calcium they eat all day from all sources. Even that is averaged over a few days. It doesn't matter if that calcium comes from oyster shell, limestone, or something else. Calcium is a chemical, whatever the source.
There are studies that show that the calcium in Layer can hurt growing chicks. Somebody shared a study years ago that showed that a rooster eating nothing but Layer can possibly have problems. A certain percentage of them will but not all of them. These studies were performed with the chickens getting nothing but Layer. Remember, it's total grams per day, not what is in one bite. If they eat treats or forage for part of their food Layer is not as likely to hurt them. They cut the chickens in these studies open to look at their insides to see how much damage is done. They do have higher mortality in these studies. To be very clear, that means the ones that eat the Layer have more chickens die than the ones that eat less calcium. That's not always a lot but it is consistent. By cutting them open to look at the liver and kidneys is where they see the most damage. Again, it is not all of them, but it is a significant number of them.
I almost always have growing chicks in my flock. I never feed Layer. They all get a regular feed with a calcium percent close to 1% and free choice oyster shell. Mine also get kitchen scraps and stuff from my garden. They forage for a lot of their food. My egg shells are fine which means they are getting enough calcium. The rooster and growing chicks will occasionally eat a bite or two of oyster shell but don't eat enough to harm themselves.
We feed, house, and manage them differently. We get different results. If yours free range and forage for a lot of their food I don't think it matters that much what you feed them. But the higher portion of their daily intake is what you feed them the more important it becomes.
Some Orpington pullets start laying at 16 weeks but that's only a few. Some might wait nine months or more. It's not like every Orpington in the world starts laying at exactly the same age. It just doesn't work that way.
I've had pullets lay their first eggs the first week of December, the shortest days of the year. I've had some wait until the longer days of spring. Many start in late fall when the days are getting shorter. Each one is different. The only way you will know when they will start to lay is when you see an egg.
You can write a book on feeding our backyard chickens. A lot of that would be opinion. I'll try to keep it short but it does have many parts. I'll try to give you my opinions on it.
If you look at the label on the feed it should have an analysis that tells you percent of various nutrients. Layer should have a calcium percent close to 4%. All other feeds should be around 1% calcium. If layer feed is all they eat that should contain enough calcium for hard egg shells. If the eat a lot of low-calcium treats or forage for a lot of what they eat it may not be enough. It's not what is in one bite that matters. It's how many total grams of calcium they eat all day from all sources. Even that is averaged over a few days. It doesn't matter if that calcium comes from oyster shell, limestone, or something else. Calcium is a chemical, whatever the source.
There are studies that show that the calcium in Layer can hurt growing chicks. Somebody shared a study years ago that showed that a rooster eating nothing but Layer can possibly have problems. A certain percentage of them will but not all of them. These studies were performed with the chickens getting nothing but Layer. Remember, it's total grams per day, not what is in one bite. If they eat treats or forage for part of their food Layer is not as likely to hurt them. They cut the chickens in these studies open to look at their insides to see how much damage is done. They do have higher mortality in these studies. To be very clear, that means the ones that eat the Layer have more chickens die than the ones that eat less calcium. That's not always a lot but it is consistent. By cutting them open to look at the liver and kidneys is where they see the most damage. Again, it is not all of them, but it is a significant number of them.
I almost always have growing chicks in my flock. I never feed Layer. They all get a regular feed with a calcium percent close to 1% and free choice oyster shell. Mine also get kitchen scraps and stuff from my garden. They forage for a lot of their food. My egg shells are fine which means they are getting enough calcium. The rooster and growing chicks will occasionally eat a bite or two of oyster shell but don't eat enough to harm themselves.
We feed, house, and manage them differently. We get different results. If yours free range and forage for a lot of their food I don't think it matters that much what you feed them. But the higher portion of their daily intake is what you feed them the more important it becomes.
