Silver Laced Wyandotte, 9 months old, hasn't started laying yet.. why?

[kaylapohovich]

Hello All, I am a first year chicken owner with a flock of 9 goofy 9 month old girls. 8 of my girls are laying and have been for a few months now. My Silver Laced Wyandotte however, Thelma, has never laid a single egg and I don't know why. Any ideas? She has finished her adolescent molt, she is of age, she is a she, Her comb an wattles are bright red...All signs are there but no eggs. She doesn't squat because she wont let us get near her for some reason (classic juvenile behavior). Again, everyone else is laying but her. They have 6 laying boxes, layer feed as well as 4+ hours/day of free range in the yard, and oyster shells and crushed eggshells readily available for them as they need it. Water, dust baths, rain protection, no predator threats, the works. They got it made. So why is my Thelma a "dud"?

Insight on another thread (that I didn't realize was for another cause, oops) offered that her comb and wattles are indeed not fully developed - even at 9 months old.

Is this breed a notoriously late bloomer?

Here she is now, photo taken this afternoon.

 

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

Your other chickens could have started laying early. Most chickens, however, don't start being on a full egg laying schedule until they are 10-12 months old. She will start laying by then!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Switching growing pullets to a lower protein ration like a layer will slow down maturity. Fall maturing pullet tend to take a month longer to start laying than spring maturing pullets. Generally Wyandotte start at 5-7 months of age.

The feed switch will slow them down, I would put them back on a non medicated grower or an All Flock ration.

 

[ChickNanny13]

2x oldhenlikesdogs....When I did the switch from Chick Starter to Layer at 18wk no one laid until they were 8 - 10 months! I have had Orpingtons, Wyandottes, EEs & RIRs. Then I read about Flock Raiser, it's made a difference! Plus I ferment their feed....

Someone gave me 5 Blue Wyandottes that were 6 months & not laying, they were on layer. I put them on FR (Oyster Shell on the side) within a couple of months they were laying, figured it would take some time due to the move & change. They even warmed up to me but then it came time for them to go back to their owner.

I got 4 BOs at 8wks put them on FF/FR....The 1st laid @ 25wks, 2nd @ 28wks, 3rd @ 29wks & 4th @ 30wks. So far all are giving me eggs every day

 

[aart]

Is this breed a notoriously late bloomer?
Here she is now, photo taken this afternoon.

SLW are not necessarily later bloomers. I have 2 hatchery SLW this year and they started laying at 20 weeks.
Her comb does not look quite plump and red enough to be laying...but you might want to check her pelvic points to make sure she is not actually laying.
She's got a bit of a funky wattles there, did it get nipped as a chick?
This is my first layer less than a week before she started laying:

Your other chickens could have started laying early. Most chickens, however, don't start being on a full egg laying schedule until they are 10-12 months old. She will start laying by then!

This is inaccurate (and the second time I've seen it inside of a week, hopefully it doesn't continue to be copied and spread).
Most breeds start laying between 18 and 28 weeks old.
A few may start sooner, some may start later.
Birds coming into that laying age range in the fall,
when daylight is shorter in duration,
may be delayed until days start growing longer again after the winter solstice.

 

[kaylapohovich]

She's got a bit of a funky wattles there, did it get nipped as a chick?

She didn't get nipped as far as I know.

 

[CrystalMosko]

Hello All, I am a first year chicken owner with a flock of 9 goofy 9 month old girls. 8 of my girls are laying and have been for a few months now. My Silver Laced Wyandotte however, Thelma, has never laid a single egg and I don't know why. Any ideas? She has finished her adolescent molt, she is of age, she is a she, Her comb an wattles are bright red...All signs are there but no eggs. She doesn't squat because she wont let us get near her for some reason (classic juvenile behavior). Again, everyone else is laying but her. They have 6 laying boxes, layer feed as well as 4+ hours/day of free range in the yard, and oyster shells and crushed eggshells readily available for them as they need it. Water, dust baths, rain protection, no predator threats, the works. They got it made. So why is my Thelma a "dud"?

Insight on another thread (that I didn't realize was for another cause, oops) offered that her comb and wattles are indeed not fully developed - even at 9 months old.

Is this breed a notoriously late bloomer?


View attachment 1182289
Here she is now, photo taken this afternoon.

I know this is an old thread, but wondering at what point she started laying, I'm having the same issue. Any tips?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

To be honest the bird in question the OP was asking about I believe was laying and the OP didn't know. If she wasn't she would be very soon.

@CrystlMosko If you do not provide supplemental lighting and a bird did not come into lay before the solstice then they can take until spring daylight hours which means soon or as late as the equinox March 20th.

 

[MountainWoman73]

I know this is an old thread, but wondering at what point she started laying, I'm having the same issue. Any tips?

This is a different instance of the same problem: I had a hen totally confuse me once. I thought all my new hens were laying and assumed my white hen was a Whiting True Blue laying blue eggs. Then, 10-11 months later, I suddenly started getting white eggs. And I thought I had no white egg layers. Turns out the white hen was something else, probably a white Andalusian, who came as a surprise in my order. She hadn't layed for almost a whole year. She ended up never laying consistently. She would lay for 2-3 weeks and then quit again for months at a time. She had a really large comb too, so maybe some kind of hormonal problem? Or just really didn't do well in the cold here in Colorado.

 

[gimmie birdies]

The bigger the hen breed the longer it takes for them to lay.