When Do Hens Start Laying?/Share Your Laying Experiences

[BobbieJo81]

Gender, of course is determined at fertilization. However, I have heard that incubating at slightly cooler temps favors survival of the female embryos and that the roos just don't develop. We'll see, I am a couple days from a hatch incubated at 100 degrees. 21 eggs started in this batch, 6 never developed. We'll see if I have 50/50 hens vs roos.

Right...I have seen people argue until they are blue in the face that the temperature actually determines sex..that is 9th grade biology..lol.. But yes, exactly how you said it..that they females are stronger and survive the higher temps and the males dont. I had ran my bator high this batch also, but as of this morning (Day 17) I have movement in all but one and that one is too dark to see into..I guess we will see in a few months..boy thatd be nice to get a bunch of hens

 

[GrannysChickens]

I am not really sure about their age. We are thinking they were 3 to 4 weeks when we got them on Easter. So maybe 7 to 8 weeks now. The larger of the two -Buttercup- is like yours. Turning a beautiful color. Friendly on it's terms otherwise kind of skittish. The smaller of the pair- Houdini (likes to get out of the cage), is definitely going to be very brown. More social and likes to be snuggled but gets skittish when Buttercup gets jumpy. Not sure what sex they are yet but at this point it doesn't matter too much.
I try to let them out to run everyday if I can sit out there with them as there are a couple cats in the area. They do great in the yard until they see me heading away from them. Then they try to fly to catch up to me. My little shadows LOL! If I can figure out how to post pics I will try to get some on here. How are your chicks doing?

 

[bruceha2000]

Also, I've been thinking of getting two one-day old chicks from the pet shop down the road, since I suspect two of my three existing chicks are roosters. I just wasn't sure how to integrate the existing chicks I have with the new ones.

I read that letting them see each other a few minutes a day each from their own cages side-by-side would help them become aware of one another but I want to do what's best for them. Any ideas?

Unless pet shops in Oz are a LOT different than those in the USA, I wouldn't get chicks there. Go to a breeder or hatchery where they are masters of chicken, not jack of all trades pet pushers.

With regard to "introduction", having them in pens with a common wire wall or as you said, cages close together, lets them size each other up and start to sort out the pecking order before they can peck. But as another person posted, it might be easier with younger birds than adults. Keep in mind that the ones you have now will be 9 weeks old when the day olds are fully feathered and ready to go outside at ~4 weeks.

But yes, exactly how you said it..that they females are stronger and survive the higher temps and the males dont.

Um, you just agreed but flipped the temp where the girls are more likely to survive than the boys. So which is it? "Girls can handle it NOT being as warm as the norm" or "Girls can handle it being warmer than the norm"?? OR is it BOTH and the "easy description" is "Boys don't fare as well as girls if the temp is outside the normal incubation range?

Bruce

 

[AKchicken1]

Unless pet shops in Oz are a LOT different than those in the USA, I wouldn't get chicks there. Go to a breeder or hatchery where they are masters of chicken, not jack of all trades pet pushers.

With regard to "introduction", having them in pens with a common wire wall or as you said, cages close together, lets them size each other up and start to sort out the pecking order before they can peck. But as another person posted, it might be easier with younger birds than adults. Keep in mind that the ones you have now will be 9 weeks old when the day olds are fully feathered and ready to go outside at ~4 weeks.

Um, you just agreed but flipped the temp where the girls are more likely to survive than the boys. So which is it? "Girls can handle it NOT being as warm as the norm" or "Girls can handle it being warmer than the norm"??  OR is it BOTH and the "easy description" is "Boys don't fare as well as girls if the temp is outside the normal incubation range?

Bruce

Pretty sure cool equals roos don't make it as readily. Probably nothing to it.

 

[BobbieJo81]

Um, you just agreed but flipped the temp where the girls are more likely to survive than the boys. So which is it? "Girls can handle it NOT being as warm as the norm" or "Girls can handle it being warmer than the norm"?? OR is it BOTH and the "easy description" is "Boys don't fare as well as girls if the temp is outside the normal incubation range?

Bruce

I read that the males dont survive the higher temps, but females will...However, just like human babies--females are naturally stronger and will fight harder to live-- There is something about more male babies are born in the warmer months and females born in the colder months because of this(in people)--

 

[BobbieJo81]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1629050/

" In the Australian brush-turkey Alectura lathami, a mound-building megapode, more males hatch at low incubation temperatures and more females hatch at high temperatures, whereas the proportion is 1

:

1 at the average temperature found in natural mounds. "

^^ This is the study I read...it is not done with chickens, however the bird they used has the gene that makes the gender determination at conception(like a chicken would), not afterwards like some birds and reptiles

 

[AKchicken1]

So, I am pretty sure gender in birds is 100% determined genotypically at the time of fertilization but apparently survival of the male and female embryos can be influenced by temperature. Much UNLIKE with reptiles which can have both genotypic and temperature dependant sex determination, sometimes both at once where there is a genotypic gender that can change based on temperature to be phenotypically different, I.e. genotypic males becomes phenotypic female. Now my head hurts, glad we raise chickens not lizards.

 

[BobbieJo81]

So, I am pretty sure gender in birds is 100% determined genotypically at the time of fertilization but apparently survival of the male and female embryos can be influenced by temperature. Much UNLIKE with reptiles which can have both genotypic and temperature dependant sex determination, sometimes both at once where there is a genotypic gender that can change based on temperature to be phenotypically different, I.e. genotypic males becomes phenotypic female. Now my head hurts, glad we raise chickens not lizards.

Yep, lizards are super weird like that..lol..

Even all the chicken genetic terms sens my head spinning sometimes--dont know if lizards would be harder, easier or just as much of a headache-- glad I only deal with one..

I bred horses and dogs for years, still doesnt make trying with chickens any easier..I do have my first set on day 21 and see some eggs moving--at this point I will just be happy to get a few healthy chicks

 

[273816]

Since I started this thread, my three beautiful chicks have grown into three even prettier hens. Beatrice, the smallest, easily identifies as a red sex link but Keisha and Mackenzie are still growing into their distinct patterns and feathering. Can't wait to see the first egg!

Thanks for all the help everyone.

Rachel.

[Also, if anyone could help out on this thread- https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/904610/when-will-they-start-laying#post_13763640 -by another user, it would be much appreciated]

 

[dana0710]

We got our first egg today! We have 5 BA's that are 20 weeks old. For some reason I feel really proud to have our first home grown egg.

it's a tiny little thing, but its perfect!