Why no eggs??

[Kshrable]

Hi! I’m new to raising chickens. On Mother’s Day I received seven different chicks from my husband. A Rhode Island Red, Production Red, Easter Egger, Buff Orphington, Turken, Silver Laced Wyandotte, and a Barred Rock. They are now big and beautiful but no eggs! Is this normal?? Thanks!

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

Good morning and welcome to the BYC flock!!! Usually age, breed and maturity will depend on when they will start laying. Be patient and nature will take over lol.

 

[DobieLover]

Hi! I’m new to raising chickens. On Mother’s Day I received seven different chicks from my husband. A Rhode Island Red, Production Red, Easter Egger, Buff Orphington, Turken, Silver Laced Wyandotte, and a Barred Rock. They are now big and beautiful but no eggs! Is this normal?? Thanks!

Are you free ranging them?
If they are confined to a coop and run and you still have found no eggs, they must be very near POL at their age.

 

[Kayla's Lunch]

Any pictures?

 

[SueT]

Where do you live? Days are getting shorter in the northern hemisphere.... Late season pullets may not lay till spring, when the days get longer again. I have had May hatched chicks that didn't mature in time for fall laying, so have gotten chicks earlier in subsequent years.
Welcome to BYC!

 

[Ted_Harrell]

Yep amount of daylight has a lot to do with it. Good luck with your babies and welcome to BYC.

 

[ValerieJ]

Hi! Welcome to BYC!

 

[Kshrable]

Thanks for welcomes! I live in North Central Arkansas and days here are still 11 to 12 hrs long. They are free range and I have tried to check all the spots they live to spend time in. Haha

 

[aart]

Thanks for welcomes! I live in North Central Arkansas and days here are still 11 to 12 hrs long. They are free range and I have tried to check all the spots they live to spend time in. Haha

They may still come into lay before Solstice. Average onset of lay for most breeds is 18-28 weeks. Diet and time of year(day length) can effect that.
Here's how to tell....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/
Then maybe...
Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop for a week or so can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. Fake eggs/golf balls in the nests can help 'show' them were to lay. They can be confined to coop and maybe run 24/7 for a few days to a week, provided you have adequate space and ventilation, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it. ..at least for a good while, then repeat as necessary.


Oh, and...Welcome to BYC! @Kshrable
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Mother's Day this year was May 12 so about 19 weeks old. Sounds pretty normal. I used to live outside Fayetteville so the length of days is similar.

There are a lot of different things that can affect when they start to lay. Heredity is one. Not sure where your husband got one of all those breeds but several of them are "production" breeds. Those tend to start lay relatively early on average, but each is an individual. I've had different pullets of the same breed and from the same flock start laying months apart. So there is some luck involved in that.

Length of daylight can have an effect. Shorter day lengths and days getting shorter can have a negative effect. But there is no minimum requirement, some pullets ignore that. I often had pullets start to lay this time of year. I had pullets start laying the first week of December when the days were about as short as you will get and still getting slightly shorter. While it can possibly have an effect don't think you have no chance on getting eggs before long.

Diet can have an effect. The better the diet (protein is a big component but there is more to diet than just one nutrient) the earlier they might possibly start and the bigger the eggs will be. But I fed a 15% Grower/Developer feed and let mine forage a lot and still had a couple of pullets start laying at 16 weeks. A high protein feed is not a requirement.

There are no ironclad hard-and-fast rules about this. Pullets start to lay when they start to lay. I've had pullets break every rule there is. I'd expect yours to do the same, especially with some of the breeds you have.

I've had pullets start to lay at 16 weeks, others not start until 9 months. Some of these at strange times of the year. Yours could start laying at anytime or it could be a while. Some may wait until the days start getting longer after Christmas. You just don't know until you see an egg.

It's possible one or some of yours are laying, though it is also pretty likely they are not yet. A big cause of people thinking they are not laying when they actually are is that they are hiding a nest. They can be really good about that, it can be pretty hard to actually find a hidden nest. They are not just hiding it from you, they are hiding it from possible predators.

It is possible something is getting the eggs. Most critters leave evidence f they eat eggs. The typical ones where you are that don't lave evidence are snakes, canines, and humans. A snake eats eggs and disappears for a few days while they digest them before coming back for more. This means it is hit or miss. If eggs are disappearing every day it is not a snake.

If the canine were a fox or coyote you'd be missing chickens, not eggs. But a dog might eat eggs and leave the chickens alone. Does a dog have access to your nests? A human sounds unlikely in your case but I'll mention it anyway.

You can try Aart's butt-check method, the difference is pretty obvious once you see it. You can try locking the pullets in the coop or coop/run only for a couple of days, don't let them out at all. I you start seeing eggs either they are hiding a nest or you locked an egg-eater out.

I don't now what is going on with your pullets. It is perfectly normal that none would be laying yet. It would also be perfectly normal if one started laying in the next few days. Good luck!