Why is it that a 9 month old flock hasn't laid a single egg?

[canadianbacon]

I keep a flock of 5 chickens in my backyard. The flock consists of a BO, an Australorp, 2 Americaunas, and a BR.They were given to us on Father's Day (late June) I Believe. It's been 9 months now and they still have't laid a single egg. We've been feeding them laying pellets since they reached 20 weeks of age. I know that molting during the winter stops them from laying eggs, but they haven't molted during the winter. What're the possible reasons for this? Does anyone have any input on this or have been in such a situation?

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Because chickens live to make you crazy. Seriously. They do. They will metaphorically cross their little legs and emphatically refuse to lay anything despite your spending zillions of dollars contributing to their health and welfare. They will do this until you JUST CAN"T STAND IT ANYMORE. You will be convinced that you have the only non-egglaying chickens out there. Once you give up, then and only then, will a tiny, precious, beautiful egg appear. It is a form of control and a power that they wield with a heavy hand.


(Seriously, some of it has to do with timing. My late spring/early summer babies didn't lay until the following spring. They were all 9 months and older before they started popping out eggs. They were good layers after that, but they all had to make it past the winter dark before they felt committed to it. It will happen eventually. It has to, unless they are roosters.)

 

[chickener]

they could be laying some where that you dont know about
some of them lay in the wierdest places, my LS goes into my conservatory when she can and lays on one of the chairs

 

[canadianbacon]

Oh wow. Thanks for all the great input guys!

 

[theFox]

Quote:
Not good canadianbacon, you wait until they lay eggs before switching to layer pellets.

 

[HEChicken]

I'm with chickener. If they are free-ranging your backyard, it may be time to go on an egg hunt. You'd be surprised the tiny little spaces they can squeeze into! I once thought I'd lost my whole flock of 7! I couldn't find them anywhere in the yard. It was a hot summer day and I grew increasingly frantic as I looked everywhere I could think of and even started looking over the fence into the neighbor's yards, thinking they'd gone under the fence. It turns out they were resting from the summer heat, behind the air-conditioner. It didn't occur to them to pop out and cluck to us when they watched us searching and I didn't see them until I almost stepped on one! I figure if I could miss seeing 7 chickens, it would be even easier to miss a hidden cache of eggs!

 

[JimWWhite]

By any chance are they all crowing?

 

[Cara]

Quote:
Not good canadianbacon, you wait until they lay eggs before switching to layer pellets.

It is hardly going to kill them, or prevent them from laying. Apparently the calcium has done them no harm, never had an issue here with it either.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

I would be inclined to check for egg-eating!
Have you checked their derriere's for evidence of laying? Are their combs bright and red? Will 3 fingers fit between their pelvic bones? If so, they should be laying. Can we see closeups of their combs?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Not good canadianbacon, you wait until they lay eggs before switching to layer pellets.

I disagree. The most common rule of thumb I know of says to start layer feed at 18 to 20 weeks or when you get your first egg; whichever comes first. At 20 weeks, the extra calcium won't hurt them.