should they be laying now?

[tracylhl]

Regarding the waterer... I noticed a few times that while my waterer normally lasts at least a day, there are times when it empties in the matter of a few hours. Even when it's overcast or not as hot. That led me on a little search to figure out why. Here's what I figured out... I don't hang mine. It sits on the ground. If it is not perfectly flat, air bubbles are still getting up into the little vents on the sides making more and more water continue to come out even if the majority of the waterer is overflowing already. That means that as long as that air is getting in, the waterer will empty itself without the help of the birds. Could it be that that's what's happening to yours? A second waterer is a great idea but until you get that, you might want to be absolutely sure that there is no slight slant to the way your waterer lays in the dirt.

 

[kayri]

Quote:
At what age for laying pellets?? I've read 16 weeks and have heard, just wait?????????????????? Oh so many options, which is right?

Actually this is a blast!!

We switched all of ours over to lay pellets around 16-18 weeks. We figure that as soon as they lay, they'll need the lay pellets. Plus, not all will be laying at the same time, so there will still be some that are on the pellets and not laying...so what's the difference? Lay pellets are not a hormone feed to cause them to lay, but rather a feed that is nutritionally designed to provide the bird with the nutrients that they lose to the egg while laying. Roos can be on lay pellets as well (all of ours are) and they don't start becoming feminine from it. Think of it like a non-pregnant person taking all those prenatal vitamins. It doesn't make them get pregnant, right? Some docs recommend taking the prenatal vitamins before pregnancy so that they are in the system when pregnancy does occur. It's the same thing.

Hope this helps!

Also...regarding the laying. We have had some that starting laying at 16 weeks and a bunch that haven't laid yet at 21 weeks old. It depends on the breed. My Jersey Giants and Buckeyes probably won't lay until they are between to 24-30 weeks old.

My feed store person said not to switch hens to layer pellets until they started laying because the excess calcium in the layer pellets (that they need for the egg shells) could be harmful. I thought also that the excess calcium was bad for roos and that in a mixed flock you had to feed a normal pellet and then supplement with calcium (oyster shells). Not that I've ever done it that way because I don't have roosters, but that is what people with mixed flocks tell me.

 

[BarkerChickens]

Quote:
We switched all of ours over to lay pellets around 16-18 weeks. We figure that as soon as they lay, they'll need the lay pellets. Plus, not all will be laying at the same time, so there will still be some that are on the pellets and not laying...so what's the difference? Lay pellets are not a hormone feed to cause them to lay, but rather a feed that is nutritionally designed to provide the bird with the nutrients that they lose to the egg while laying. Roos can be on lay pellets as well (all of ours are) and they don't start becoming feminine from it. Think of it like a non-pregnant person taking all those prenatal vitamins. It doesn't make them get pregnant, right? Some docs recommend taking the prenatal vitamins before pregnancy so that they are in the system when pregnancy does occur. It's the same thing.

Hope this helps!

Also...regarding the laying. We have had some that starting laying at 16 weeks and a bunch that haven't laid yet at 21 weeks old. It depends on the breed. My Jersey Giants and Buckeyes probably won't lay until they are between to 24-30 weeks old.

My feed store person said not to switch hens to layer pellets until they started laying because the excess calcium in the layer pellets (that they need for the egg shells) could be harmful. I thought also that the excess calcium was bad for roos and that in a mixed flock you had to feed a normal pellet and then supplement with calcium (oyster shells). Not that I've ever done it that way because I don't have roosters, but that is what people with mixed flocks tell me.

Regarding the extra calcium in the pullets... I was told (where's a poultry vet when we need one!

) that the short amount of time between putting them on the pellets and them starting to lay won't do any damage. None of my hens have had problems and they were started a few weeks before laying.

Regarding the roosters...well, I again was told that it is fine; however, I will look into this more since I don't want to hurt my roos if it is, in fact, hard on them in the long term.

 

[felidaet]

I have 17 hens that are 18 - 19 weeks old. My smallest bird, a white Leghorn started laying about a week ago. We are getting an egg a day from her. A couple of days later our gold comet started laying. She is also laying an egg every day. A third one started laying today but we don't know which one yet. It looks like others are getting close.

I was getting low on feed and switched to layer pellets a couple of weeks ago.

I am using a 5 gallon plastic waterer. It is sitting inside my coop on a concrete block. It is level and does not leak at all. I dump it out, rinse it, and refill it about once every 5 days. I never let it get below 1/2 empty.

We have our fingers crossed that one or more hens will start laying soon. We have one carton of store bought eggs in the refrigerator and are hoping that it will be out last store bought carton ever.

 

[kayri]

Please let me know what your researched opinion is on calcium in layer feed Barker Chicken, or maybe not, as I just bought 50 lbs of grower pellets and I want them to eat it ALL before switching to layer pellets.

Kay

 

[tomato lady]

About the water, I have 2 plastic 1 gallon ones and I change the water every day. They never get completely empty. When it was hot I took an old feed pan (probably 14 inches across and 6 inches deep) and put it in their run filled with water. I change that water every day also. Although I put it in for the chickens to walk in on hot days, they love to drink out of it. When I let them out in the a.m. they run streight to that water pan and drink, even though they have water in their coop. They like it so much I am going to keep it when I move them to their bigger coop.

BTW I have 31 chickens between 10 weeks to 16 weeks.

 

[BarkerChickens]

Quote:
SO my research has led me to believe that, in most cases, layer pellets are fine for roosters. The article at the bottom is regarding a study conducted that found that kidney dysfunction (from the excess calcium) was rare. In my opinion, my options are lay pellets for all or grow feed with oyster shells separate. In our area, lay pellets are $6-7 cheaper per 50 lb bag (depending on feed store). In addition, the grow feed is available only in mash, which is wasted far more than the pellets (which means money lost). Therefore, if the kidney dysfunction is rare, I will take my chances. We go through approximately 250 lbs of feed per month, so we are saving a minimum of $30 a month. We don't have enough roosters to warrant the extra costs (at least currently in this economy) for the rare possibility of one of our healthy roos having kidney dysfunction related to excessive calcium.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=212247

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=132315

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/livestock/poultry/facts/prebreeder.htm (from a thread on BYC)

 

[gottsegnet]

Curious question:

Is there any way to tell when a hen might be ready to lay? I was surprised when our first egg was a brown one. Our leghorn looks to be the most mature by far. She's taller and has a more developed comb and wattle and has very definite white ear lobes.

 

[BarkerChickens]

Quote:
Their pelvic area will widen a bit, the girl combs will redden and swell a little and they'll sometimes start to the do the squat for you. With that said, I have a Delaware that fits that description to a "T" and she hasn't laid yet. It has been about 2 wks now.