Anybody else have chickens that aren't paying their rent?

[HotPepperQueen]

24 weeks for a sex link is a really long time! I have some Welsummers that are 22 weeks old and haven't laid yet but I'm not overly concerned.

 

[Ridgerunner]

HPQ, there are two different kinds of sex links you get from the hatcheries. One is the commercial type. These are the ones that usually start laying really early, the eggs are usually pretty good size, and they are about the size and often have a comb a lot like a leghorn.

Then you have the ones that are just a cross between two regular breeds. These will be just like your Welsummers or other regular hatchery dual purpose chicken breeds in when they start to lay and size.

I think Cackle and McMurray usually use the "commercial" type, Ideal crosses two regular breeds, and Meyer offers you a choice of either. I don't know which type you got. I agree though. For either, you should be getting some egg at 24 weeks.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

If I talk badly about them enough, it might provoke one to lay an egg just to be obstinate, lol.

Yup. I think that's how it works.

 

[so lucky]

Don't give up on them yet; they may just be stressed by the heat. One of my EE's was over 30 weeks old before she laid. Maybe you can give them another month before you start sharpening the axe. (I'm pleading for a stay of execution here, in case it wasn't obvious. )

 

[schmije]

It appears that we're beginning to make progress. We've had two new layers in the last two days - a light brown egg and a green one. I collected nine eggs today, which is more than we've gotten in several months.

However after posting a picture in another thread, I'm fairly confident that I have 10 more roosters than I planned.

 

[hangin'witthepeeps]

I still have no eggs. Mine were ordered from McMurry's and delivered on March 14th. I have 2 red stars, 2 black stars, and 1 EE. They look good, good enough to eat (insert creepy laugh). BUT I split an order with some co-workers. They got gold laced wyndottes, turkens, speckled sussex, australorps, etc.. and they are also not getting eggs. It has to be the stress of the summer. I say summer, because it's been less than 90 degrees for a couple of weeks around here. We have had high humidity and they were molting. I keep providing them with excuses, their days are numbered. ................(insert doom and gloom music).

I will try to get some pictures of the girls this weekend.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

I had a few "freeloaders" that we kept around for months. We sent them to freezer camp when we did our meat birds in. Chickens are funny creatures. So many things effect their laying in addition of course to age. Number of daylight hours, temperature, over crowding, pressence of roos, new birds to the flock, bugs, change in routine, change in food. If hens that were laying, stop laying; any of these things can be a factor.

I'm guessing when you get rid of your over abundance of roos, that will help. Best wishes, I know how frustrating it is when you feed and feed and don't get what you are expecting in return.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

duplicated in error

 

[HotPepperQueen]

My girls are finally catching back up. I got a dozen eggs the other day but since then it's only been 7 or 8 a day.

 

[RickF]

We had a pair of BO's that we recently re-homed to a nice lady in a nearby town -- to keep with her existing small flock.. Our BO's were more than 2.5 years old and still laying but getting weird in their old years. Anyway, we were visiting my mother in Oregon and stopped at a ladys place on the way up and picked out (4) day-old chicks (ok -- they were about 3 days old when we got there) to take home to California.. We had to make sure we had the proper paperwork for entry back into CA -- they require docs!! Where are your papers???!


Anyway, we got our NPIP form (National Poultry Improvement Program) from the breeder -- yes, it was planned well ahead of time. Anyway, got the birds home and they're growing like crazy and love to fly if given the chance..

These birds are Lohmann browns which is a german breed that is supposed to be good for high frequency laying.. I'll post some pics..

One claim to fame of this breed is that they're supposed to start laying at ~4 months of age.. We'll see.. Ours were born on about 13 or 14'th of August..