When could I expect egg laying to start?

[WolfeBane]

My little backyard flock here north of Montgomery, AL consists of 2 Buff Orphingtons, 2 Cinnamon Queens, and 1 White Leghorn. We got them as chicks at a day old from a local farm store (not tractor supply) in Mid March. They are two turkeys (a male and a female) they have been raised with that we got as babies at the same time as the chicks.

They have been outside in their coop and enclosed run since the first week of June. They also get to free range in a fenced in portion of our back yard that their run opens into. We haven’t seen any egg production from the chickens yet. Should we be concerned?

Their feed is between 16-18 percent protein depending on what is available at the store. They get electrolytes in their water daily and probiotics as well. They also get some herbs and spices added to their feed.

 

[sourland]

It will most likely be another month to 6 weeks before they start laying. Watch your tom around your chicken hens. If he tries to breed them, he may inadvertently crush/kill them.

 

[WolfeBane]

It will most likely be another month to 6 weeks before they start laying. Watch your tom around your chicken hens. If he tries to breed them, he may inadvertently crush/kill them.

Thanks! We know about that with Tom.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Just to give you a reference, my Golden Comets (very similar to Cinnamon Queens) started laying at 21 weeks. My Australorps (similar to your Orpingtons) started laying at 6 months old.

 

[C Siena]

Our 2 CQ hens began to lay at 19-20 wks. Of our 2 CQ pullets, 1 began to squat, a couple of times, a few days ago, at 3 months. I'm still guessing it will be another month, at least, but surprised to see her squat when I pet her on the back. I haven't done that again.

 

[TooCheep]

Looks like the chickens are healthy and the feed sounds okay, so the hard part is simply waiting. Try not to worry about it. They'll lay when they are physically ready for it. You can't do anything to make them lay faster.

 

[C Siena]

Be prepared for them to lay their first egg, from the roost, the floor, in a corner or somewhere other than the box. Sometimes it takes a bit for them to use the box.

 

[WolfeBane]

Our 2 CQ hens began to lay at 19-20 wks. Of our 2 CQ pullets, 1 began to squat, a couple of times, a few days ago, at 3 months. I'm still guessing it will be another month, at least, but surprised to see her squat when I pet her on the back. I haven't done that again.

None of our hens squat when we go to pet them yet…they still move away from us…unless we have food.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The earliest I've had pullets similar to your breeds start laying was 16 weeks. That has only happened a couple of times, really rare. The latest I've had some pullets start to lay was 9 months and that was in the middle of winter when they are not supposed to lay. Those were the only green egg layers I had so it was obvious when they started.

You only have five, that's not a lot when it comes to averages. When I have 10 pullets of similar breeds to yours I usually have one or two start laying by 20 weeks, half of them are probably laying around 24 to 25 weeks, and most if not all are laying by 28 to 30 weeks. But these are just averages, each year it can vary quite a bit.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

None of our hens squat when we go to pet them yet…they still move away from us…unless we have food.

This was the signal, more than comb reddening, that was our alert. That’s when I added hemp to the nest boxes, and one started going in, building little nests, playing house. Pretty sure she was laying <2 weeks later.