Will they ever lay...UPDATE - THEY WILL!!!

[thegreypony]

yo, I don't know

We have 4 GLWs that are about 6 mos. old. Our other birds are about 4 mos. old (BR, EEs, Australorp). The ladies have been getting very vocal and their combs are getting bright red - the freeloading GLWs have had bright red combs since the day we got them about 4 wks ago.

They are on layer crumble (16%), mixed scratch, have free access to grit; I added oyster shell last week. They have access to greens in their 35'x15' run, plenty of fresh h2o....there are 6 nesting boxes with ping pong balls in them. Hubby build boxes per Damerow's book. I'm just wondering if there's something we aren't doing right??? I realize the younger birds are, well, pretty young still, but those GLWs should be laying, I'd think. Friend says other GLWs he kept have started laying...would the transition to their new chicken palace have set them off? Even if they despised their nesting boxes, would they lay outside? I've looked high and low and can't find where they would be hiding anything in the run...

Thanks for any insight on this....
Signed,
A Watched Pot Apparently Never Does Boil. :-/

 

[Omran]

Yes they will lay, only thing you can do is give them a litle highr ration, like 18% prtin, and try to give them crumbled feed. plus take the corn away, corn is only used as a hand full every night, that's what I do and they lay everyday.

Good luck.

 

[SpringChickens]

The stress of moving sometimes sets them back somewhere. Have you heard them singing the "egg song" yet?

A lot of them are slowing down right about now because of the heat, maybe that's a problem for them too?

You could also have a predator eating the eggs? Try putting in a ceramic egg (or golf ball) in the nest box... if it disappears, your predator should too.

 

[yfchoice]

We give ours their feed.....also, they get scratch (incl. corn) in the morning. They have free access to oyster shell and grit. Plus, they love treats like grapes and garden trash. We have 2 barred rocks and 2 red sex links. One of each started laying at 17 weeks and the other 2 are finally following their steps at 19 weeks.

They have to lay according to their own time schedule.

 

[Uppity Peon]

I bet they lay as soon as you buy your next carton of grocery store eggs.

But seriously, make sure to watch them closely. They could be hiding the eggs, or you may be feeding a snake.

 

[thegreypony]

So yesterday afternoon I find a 4.5 ft. long black snake in the muscadines..'bout stepped on his head. Today, I check the hen house in the middle of the day...not my usual MO...and guess what? There's a cute little pullet egg next to a ping pong ball. Can't say that we've been feeding the snake, but boy was I glad to see that egg!

 

[chicky gal1]

Yeah!!!! Now, where's the snake?

 

[thegreypony]

Well, we don't kill black snakes...too many benefits with rodent population control (we have cattle feed, chicken feed, and horse feed that draw the mice, etc.). I couldn't find the manure fork to move the snake, so I tried using a garden rake. He would have none of that and disappeared into a thick bed of ivy that's growing under the grape arbor.