When Will My Girls Start Laying?

[Headers Hen House]

I have 2 hens and they both have not started laying yet.

My blue orpington, Bertha, was brought home in July. So she's about 7 months old.

My chocolate cuckoo orpington, Rick, was brought home in September. And she's about 5-6 months old.

Neither of them have laid an egg yet. I figure Rick is still too young and maybe the cold weather has hindered them from laying. Is that true?

Am I going to be waiting until Spring for the first eggs? They're not interested in the nesting boxes in the coop, so they just collect poop because they're just below where they roost. Do I keep the boxes in there or take them out?

I'm in Minnesota, so it's cold.

 

[Chickens are the best]

Keep the boxes in. A lot of times they don't lay as well in the winter anyway, but if they do get ready to lay, they will go in and out of the boxes. It also varies with breed when they start laying. Make sure the boxes are nicely bedded and I like to put mint in my boxes when I have it fresh. If you aren't already, start giving them layer pellets/crumbs. Good Luck!

 

[Headers Hen House]

I also forgot to ask about dust baths. I see them cleaning themselves during the day a lot. Should I make an area for them to do a dust bath? Get a bunch of dirt

 

[junebuggena]

Orpingtons are slow to mature, and with the shorter days of winter you could be waiting for several more months. Do not start giving layer feed till they are actually laying. The high calcium content can be harmful to birds that aren't laying and if they are still developing, they need more protein than what most layer feeds offer. Definitely move the nest boxes away from underneath the roost to a spot they won't get coated in poo.

 

[h c hennery]

Our Buff Orpington laid her first egg yesterday, @ 27.5 weeks! It surprised me because we first noticed her squatting on Sunday afternoon . . . so we thought it would be a few more days before she was ready. (Her egg also confused me at first because it looked *exactly* like the fake ceramic eggs we have in the nest boxes, from Tractor Supply.)