Why aren't my ladies laying?

[iaeln13]

Hello there, i'm a new chicken mama. I have two ladies, one is a Light Brahma and one is a Buff Orpington. I ordered them from the Cackle Hatchery and got them when they were two days old. They are almost 6 month old now, and still not one egg. I built them a beautiful coop and their own individual nesting boxes with ample room and on opposite sides of the coop so they have their privacy. They're pretty much free-range and spend all day pecking and scratching on our two acres and feed themselves regularly on my garden and compost but I still feed them a mix of organic feed for laying Hens, oyster shell and "Party Mix"(which consists of corn, raisins, nuts, etc) at the end of everyday. Still not one egg. I was told that extreme heat will slow down or halt egg production, and we live in South Florida and it's August now, so the temperatures reach over 90 degrees some days with like, 100% humidity. Their coop is inside this huge enclosure that used to be used to house Iguana's (the people who lived on my property before us bred Iguanas) and it has stone on the ground with an aluminum roof, so it's always much cooler inside the enclosure. What am I missing?? Help!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Hi and welcome!
Your girls are at the point of likely starting to lay - at "almost six months" that would put them at likely 22+ weeks of age and that is right around the time you start expecting them to begin. Light Brahmas are also one of the slower to mature breeds. You are not missing anything- just need to remain patient a little longer.

 

[chicmom]

Hi there!

Orpingtons and Brahmas take a bit longer than smaller breed hens to begin laying. Are they tame enough for you to reach out and pet them? A hen that is getting ready to lay will do a hard squatting position for you when you try and pet them. That's a sure sign that laying will begin in a few weeks.

Now, if they're already squatting, they may be laying somewhere outside instead of the coop. I'm pretty sure my brahmas and orps took at least 25 weeks to begin laying.

I'm betting it'll happen for you very soon......