Why are my hens not laying yet?

[Chickadee-23]

I have 5 hens-
2 white leghorns
1 red sex link
2 Rhode Island reds
They all are 23 weeks old i was told the white leghorns & red sex link lay between 17-20 weeks, and the RIRs lay between 20-24 weeks, but i dont mind for them i was hoping i would have my first egg by now with the white leghorns, im new to the whole large chicken egg layers, i had them bantam breeds which i raised to sell babies so i never ate their eggs, i love fresh eggs bantams little to small to eat so i bought large egg layers last october as babies. I feed them laying crumbles dumor brand from my local TSC, i mix it with oyster shell, and i also give them bread 3 times a week and scratch grains every day, what else could be the problem? They get sunlight pretty much all day it shines in the run only shade is where the coop and outside roosts they also come out to free range for couple hours a day!! Thanks

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Chickens are pretty individual when it comes to the time that they start laying. The times you listed are kind of a guideline for expectations but not the rule. Be patient. You probably don't have too much longer to wait.

Also, even though chickens love bread and scratch, it's not a good substitute for good all around nutrition. So, maybe cut back on that a bit? That's not necessarily going to help at all...

 

[TeamBigfoot]

You'll know when your girls are close to laying when they crouch as you reach for them. Once they start that, you're ~1-2 weeks away from them dropping their first egg. Our red sex-linked started laying at 23 weeks

Also, echoing the above advice, giving them feed they're not ready for (laying feed) isn't good for them. The laying feed will have higher amounts of calcium, which can hurt the livers of chickens before they start laying. We switched to laying feed after the first eggs came from two of four our girls.

 

[Studio2770]

The wait is hard I know.

I'm sure they have big red combs by now. The squat will tell you. My EE and cochin laid a week after squatting, though others could be quicker or longer.

 

[Chickadee-23]

Thanks the wait is hard but its ok, my WL's & RSL have started squating last week and have bright red comb & waddles so maybe soon i will be seeing my first egg, just curious if it be white egg or brown maybe both lol My RIRs might have until next month their combs are smaller and light pink, i will post my first egg pic when they lay it

 

[Chickadee-23]

Well my first egg was laid last friday, brown egg still havn't seen a white egg yet i went to collect today had 2 brown eggs no white eggs, i dont know why my White leghorns havn't started laying yet maybe they will soon!!

 

[mommyx20412]

I'm having similar problems, I have 4 hens I bought march 8 the people knew nothing other than the breed (golden buff or red sex link) but nothing else one of them is laying but I can never tell which on I did layer houses commercially so never had to wonder which was laying when you get 2500 plus a day. But these I want to know why or when they will lay they are healthy eat good plenty of foraging on layer feed but how can I tell age??? Please help

 

[Chickadee-23]

Im not sure about when golden buffs lay but my red sex link started laying at 23 weeks, they normaly lay between 20-24 weeks first te laying i think the golden buffs lay about 6 months im not 100% sure though maybe some one else might know help this helps!!

 

[Chickadee-23]

Also mine started squating a week befor they started to lay, and their comb and waddles were big and bright red, if yours are starting to do this then there very close to laying maybe a week or 2, and their probably somewhere between 4-6 months old if u can post a pic i might could tell u more on how old they are?!!