Still no eggs!!! : (

[Casandra]

Ok our hens are 24 weeks old and STILL NO EGGS!!!!!

The hens have large bumps at their tails, but other than that nothing has changed. How can I tell when they are gonna lay, and what should I do? Also I read that their faces will get red but ours have been red for months.

 

[goldies99]

the combs and waddles will be red.....also they will squat and put their wings out when you go to pet them...
these are signs that they are going to lay...also they will squawk a bit to tell you all about it!!!...they might not lay till 27 weeks!....
also this time of year the days are shorter and they need 14 hours of light....do you have a light in the coop???

 

[Casandra]

no i don't have a light in the coop. Two of my hens ( I only have three hens out of ten) have been doing that for about two weeks but the roos wont leave them be. Gogo my mothers lap chicken ( i say this because she is totally loveable. she flys up onto your shoulder and will try to clean your hair lol it's cute she has done this since she was a baby) developed a large not/lump about a fingers with from her butt opening. ( i dont know what its called) and in the past two weeks it has gotten to about the size of a baseball. I am really worried because i have heard of egg binding and that it kills.

 

[QualityPolish]

Mmh... very odd I have actually never has this happen before. Are their combs and wattles really red? Umm.. do they have a nice spot to lay? Somewhere quit and secluded from everybody? Like a nesting box? Well... I really don't know what to say but to keep watch. Sorry I can't be of help.
QP

 

[Casandra]

I plan to keep watch thanks

 

[SueBaby]

Quote:
That doesn't sound normal. Have you tried to feel the lump to see if it's hard or soft? If it feels like an egg, then it sounds like you need to take some action.

As for the lack of eggs by 24 weeks, I am experiencing a similar situation. I'm chalking it up to the short days that it's taking so long. I believe that 6 of my 7 are laying, but #6 laid her first at 27 weeks and we are STILL patiently waiting for #7.

 

[Casandra]

its hard and it kinda feels like it's shaped like an egg but an egg that is side ways. and what action do i take?

 

[new chick 203]

There is no way your whole flock is egg bound. They just aren't ready to lay. How soon they start has to do with the breed and the time of year. I have a couple of Cochins that are 30 weeks old and aren't laying and won't for at least a few more weeks because if they aren't already they will probably just wait till the days start get longer.I had some cochins last year that didn't lay till they were almost 40 weeks. They are just slow girls.

If it's just one that has the lump that is different. I've heard a warm bath can loosen things up. I have had chickens that LOVE this and ones that hate it. But if you try this make sure you can get her totally dry before you put her back out.

 

[HHandbasket]

I have a group of *18* that reached the age that they should be laying about 3-4 weeks ago, and only one started this week... other than that, we got nuttin'. I think that after the solstice when the hours of sunlight begin to increase again, they'll start. I had a girl last year that did that & she started laying the 6th of January and became a prolific layer--for about 2 weeks, and then she went broody & has gone broody 5 times since! Darn American gamehen gets broody when the wind blows, I swear. I do have a light in the coop, but I still don't think they're getting enough light so I'm just going to be patient and wait to see what happens. My two senior hens started molting in September and stopped laying, and they are taking their sweet time growing back their feathers and haven't laid an egg in nearly 3 months! Freeloaders.

Out of 24 girls of egg-laying age, we are getting 1 to 4 eggs a day--only 4 are laying semi-regularly at this time. The rest are freeloadin', and we have egg orders we can't fill!