When will my hens ACTUALLY start laying?

[NikolasGuy1234]

ALRIGHTY. sorry for the caps but it was to show my frustration with this question that i cant seem to find a definitive answer to. My Black Australorp hens are 19 weeks old. all i want to know is when they will actually start laying. ive heard just about everything. ive heard people say they will lat at 26/27 weeks, 22/24 weeks, 20/22 weeks and even from one site read that the do start laying at 18 weeks, which i now know isnt true. can someone Please give me an accurate answer? thank you i would appreciate all the info i can get

 

[bobbi-j]

ALRIGHTY. sorry for the caps but it was to show my frustration with this question that i cant seem to find a definitive answer to. My Black Australorp hens are 19 weeks old. all i want to know is when they will actually start laying. ive heard just about everything. ive heard people say they will lat at 26/27 weeks, 22/24 weeks, 20/22 weeks and even from one site read that the do start laying at 18 weeks, which i now know isnt true. can someone Please give me an accurate answer? thank you i would appreciate all the info i can get

Unfortunately, there is no "accurate" answer. Our chickens don't read the books, so they don't know the rules about when they're "supposed to" do anything. Your birds are still young, so it could still be several weeks.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Unfortunately, there is no "accurate" answer. Our chickens don't read the books, so they don't know the rules about when they're "supposed to" do anything. Your birds are still young, so it could still be several weeks.

X2. Onset of production for most standard laying breeds is 22-28 weeks +/- 2 weeks or more so all off tghe things you have heard and read are technically correct. (Though, ime 18 weeks is very eartly for australorps, so that one not so much) Breeding line, diet, time of year at maturity, management and a host of other factors contribute.... and so does individual development.

 

[Cindy in PA]

My girls are 24 weeks. I started getting eggs on the day they turned 20 weeks & had 6 in one day by the end of that week. The most I have gotten now is 10 a day, so at least that many are laying, but all of 13 could be also! There is no set answer. It depends on how you raise them,feed, the area you live in (light) & breeding. Chickens aren't robots.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I keep Aussies.
I have had them start at 20 weeks but most are closer to 26 weeks.

Think about everything they have had to do and learn in those weeks. Amazing to go from being in an egg to laying one in such a short time.

My advice is to relax and enjoy the birds. They will lay when their bodies have grown enough to do so.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree with the others. They are not robots that can be programmed to start laying at a certain age, they are each a unique living animal with a lot of different things that can affect when they start to lay.

You will see a lot of posts on this forum where people tell you that something will happen a certain way or at a certain time. Be suspicious of people that do that. Each chicken is a unique living animal with its own personality. We keep them in a lot of different conditions, feed them differently, and manage them differently. They are all going to react differently.

We can tell you what they typically do or what ours did, but our conditions are likely different from yours and our birds have different personalities and traits. For example, my Australorps typically started laying at 18 to 24 weeks, but they were hatched in February so they came of laying age at the height of summer. Yours are a bit later so the days getting shorter may slow them down a bit if you are north of the equator. Mine came from a certain hatchery, those tend to start laying a bit earlier than chickens from a breeder or even a different hatchery. Heredity plays a part.

I liked my Australorps. The ones I had tended to lay pretty well in winter once they got over the molt. The eggs were a nice size too. I even had some go broody which I wanted. I don’t know where you got yours or what your goals are but I like the breed.

 

[aart]

Answering your thread title question:
When they are DARN well and ready!!

I know, it's frustrating.
I have pullets hatched later than usual this year,
one 18wk old shows all the signs and was even in the nest.....but nothing yet.
Ya just gotta wait.
Chickens will teach you patience.....or not.

 

[staceyj]

When you have run out of milk, bread, Cheetos and toilet paper and are forced to leave them to get supplies. They'll lay while your gone.

No seriously, start your layer feed now if you haven't already. My australorp (new baby in February) finally laid an egg at 25 1/2 weeks. She has only missed one day since then, the following day she laid a massive double yolk egg.
It'll happen.

 

[lilmarie84]

I understand your frustration I have an australorp too mine is 20 weeks and she isn't laying yet either but she has all the signs of being close to laying she hasn't been the least bit interested in the nest box every hen is different I also have 2 white rocks also 20 weeks and while one has her comb and waddles and squatting the other one is just starting to get her waddles so just be patient

 

[andreanar]

Pshhhh my Lorp is 6 months old and still isn't laying!