When shoul my hens start laying?

[bizzeeb60]

I got my chickens in mid February and they were already 30 days old. Shouldn't the hens begin laying soon?

Do I need to do anything to get them to start? Will they just go into the nesting box on their own?

I started them on laying mash (under the advice of the feed store employee) a few weeks ago when I needed to buy a new bag of feed.

 

[miss_thenorth]

I thnik it is around 20 weeks.

 

[2dream]

From what I understand they won't lay until they are 7 to 8 months old. My chicks are 5 months and not laying yet and I don't expect them to for at least 3 more months.
Your chicks are to young for laying mash. They need to be on starter/grower. If you got them in Feb (depends on when if Feb) and they were 30 days old that still makes them at the most 6 months old.
Don't rush them. Like children walking - it will happen when it happens.

 

[rebeccakeesee]

Yeah You wont be expecting eggs till sept-oct. But just like little ladies and their cycle It will just surprise you both one day. No special attention required. Accept you will wanna switch them to laying pellets around that time for the calcium.

 

[gypsygirl1421]

I got my chickens as day olds on Feb 17. They laid their first egg on May 27 and I am now getting about 4 per day. These are red stars and EE's. I have about 9 EE eggs. Saturday was exciting because I got my first triple yolker!

 

[Nuggetsowner:)]

Your pullets are a little young. Most begin to lay around 24 weeks I believe. One thing you want to do is keep them on a grower feed untill they begin to lay. If you give too much calcium to a young bird it can hurt them. Once they begin to lay switch to the layer feed and offer oyster shell as well. In order to help them "find" the nest boxes and know what they are for you can place golf balls or plastic eggs in them. I hope this helps!

 

[2dream]

Quote:
Congrats. I raised chickens for years and never had a hen lay at that age. What are you feeding those girls? The youngest hen I ever had that layed an egg was an EE at 5 1/2 months and then it took another month before she was laying one egg a day.

 

[keljonma]

I think egg laying is a breed trait. I wasn't working when our ladies started laying, so I got to see each first egg as it was laid.

This is the advantage of unemployment..

Here's our flocks ages when they laid their first eggs....

Silver Lakenvelder 4 mos 18 days
Gold Laced Wyandotte 4 mos 21 days
Silver Laced Wyandotte 4 mos 23 days
Americauna/Araucana 4 mos 28 days
Partridge Plymouth Rock 4 mos 29 days
Rhode Island Red 4 mos 30 days
Jersey Black Giant 5 mos 0 days
White Wyandotte 5 mos 4 days
Buttercup 5 mos 5 days
White Faced Black Spanish 5 mos 10 days
Columbian Wyandotte 5 mos 13 days
Ancona 5 mos 17 days
Buff Orpington 5 mos 18 days
Delaware 5 mos 20 days
Gold Penciled Hamburg 5 mos 21 days
Dominique 5 mos 22 days
Silver Spangled Hamburg 5 mos 25 days

 

[bizzeeb60]

Thanks so much for all of the help. We actually got the chicks February 15th, they were 30 days old then. They are OEG/Wheaton mix.

this one of the ladies (Hester) on May 31, 2008

I will try putting the plastic eggs in the nesting boxes too.

 

[ashyannehand]

I have a mix of hens (breeds) and I got them Feb 15 when they were a day old and two days ago I got my first egg. I have had three eggs in two days. So excited!!