Still not laying

[Rusticwool]

Hello everyone!
I have a barnevelder pullet that is 42 weeks old and still not laying. Is this normal for her breed? My chickens are in a run so I know she’s not hiding them anywhere. I’ve never had one take soooo long to lay! They are fed a flock raiser with oyster shell on the side. I’m stumped. The pic was taken 3 weeks ago.

 

[HeyHeyWW]

Barnevelders do usually take longer than other chickens to lay eggs. But not that long... I'm not sure what's wrong. Are you sure she's not hiding her eggs anyplace else in the run? Try checking around for an egg if you haven't already.

Does she have enough light around? Because hens need at least 12 hours of light to start laying eggs.

She looks healthy to me. So the only possibilities could be that she's laying eggs elsewhere in the run, or there's just not enough light for her to lay eggs. It's winter so the days are always shorter. If you don't find any eggs around the run, wait until spring and see. The days are longer and there'll be more light for her to lay eggs.

 

[EggWalrus]

I've had some pullets that didn't lay their first winter. Some breeds just won't lay when the daylight is short in winter. From looking at her comb color it shouldn't be a whole lot longer.

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

I have a couple of sebright pullets that are 32 weeks old and have not started laying. Most of my bantam pure breeds begin laying around 6 months old, but because this time was in autumn, the days were too short already. I'm hoping they will lay in the early spring. I've had pullets in the past not start to lay until almost a year old.

Having said that one of those (a Pekin Bantam) must have had some kind of hormone imbalance because for a few weeks around 9-10 months, she crowed or tried to crow on occasion. Then at, almost 12 months, the first egg came and the crowing stopped. She hasn't crowed again and has gone to to hatch and mother chicks with no problems.

Hopefully your pullet will start laying in spring. I wouldn't worry about it if she is otherwise healthy.

 

[Rusticwool]

Barnevelders do usually take longer than other chickens to lay eggs. But not that long... I'm not sure what's wrong. Are you sure she's not hiding her eggs anyplace else in the run? Try checking around for an egg if you haven't already.

Does she have enough light around? Because hens need at least 12 hours of light to start laying eggs.

She looks healthy to me. So the only possibilities could be that she's laying eggs elsewhere in the run, or there's just not enough light for her to lay eggs. It's winter so the days are always shorter. If you don't find any eggs around the run, wait until spring and see. The days are longer and there'll be more light for her to lay eggs.

ok. I’ve searchEd everywhere in the run and haven’t found any eggs. I don’t light the coop in the winter so I guess I’ll wait until spring. It’s a good thing she’s so pretty, little free loader.

 

[Rusticwool]

I have a couple of sebright pullets that are 32 weeks old and have not started laying. Most of my bantam pure breeds begin laying around 6 months old, but because this time was in autumn, the days were too short already. I'm hoping they will lay in the early spring. I've had pullets in the past not start to lay until almost a year old.

Having said that one of those (a Pekin Bantam) must have had some kind of hormone imbalance because for a few weeks around 9-10 months, she crowed or tried to crow on occasion. Then at, almost 12 months, the first egg came and the crowing stopped. She hasn't crowed again and has gone to to hatch and mother chicks with no problems.

Hopefully your pullet will start laying in spring. I wouldn't worry about it if she is otherwise healthy.

That makes me feel better! Thank you!