My Welsummer and Americauna pullets won’t lay an egg. It’s very frustrating, because I’m going
through a lot of feed, and they really should be old enough. The three Americaunas were hatched on April
25th- so they are 26 weeks old.
The Welsummers are about 23 weeks
old.
My other pullets delivered right on time- around 22 weeks
old, so I never read up on this before. Now I’m trying everything I can think
of to put them into the mood. I put a
light bulb into the house, I’m feeding them very generously, I’m keeping the
young birds in a separate pen so as to keep a calm atmosphere in the Big
Coop. Nothing.
They say the combs and wattles will begin turn red when a
hen is ready to lay. The Welsummers are beginning
to pink up, the Americaunas are not.
I’ve seen the Welsummers in the hen house checking out the
layer box. I have always just had one big box, and all the girls laid in the same
nest. Maybe the new girls don’t like
that. So today I took an old milk crate
out to the coop with a little bed of
straw in it. I stuck it in the coop.
Everyone rushed in to look at it.
New furniture!
I’m hoping for a breakthrough this week. Even my husband has noticed that my flock is
underperforming. He asked if I couldn’t
do something to make them go. I told him
I have serious conversations with them every morning about their purpose in
life, the cost of feed, my performance expectations…They just aren’t very
responsive. I mean, they talk back, but
they are kind of snarky.
Any ideas?
Both of these breeds are what I would class as medium size birds. Light birds will come into lay at 4-6 months. Medium birds 6-8 months and large breeds, Jersey Giants, Orpington's can be as late as 12 months or even older.
ReplyDeleteDid you rear these birds yourself? We feed chick crumb up to six weeks, and then growers up to point of lay, this would mean when the bird is up to the correct weight which in the case of the two breeds you have would be about 4.5lb weight.Most pure bred birds are seasonal layers unlike the hybred birds. 14 hours of light a day is sufficient, always give the extra light in the morning, our lights are now timed to come on at 4 am.Check the birds are free of lice and that their house is free of mites.
you can also give them a little cod liver oil once a week in their feed, I guess your feed store will have this, also Apple Cider Vinegar once a week, again a good feed store should have this. We also give a clove of garlic just crushed into the water once a month. All these things seem to keep the birds in good condition and no worm problems, we do however move the runs four times a year so there is no build up of pests.I think you will just have to be patient, they are still a little young and check their weight if possible.
It sounds like my expectations are too high! I did rear these birds myself- I mean, I got them as chicks. I did the chick feed a little longer than you, and switched to layer ration when I moved them into the big house with the laying hens. They look like they are a good weight. They have been bulking up lately- I've had a lot of end of season produce- apples, potatoes, tomatoes etc.
ReplyDeleteI guess I need a timer and some cider vinegar and cod liver oil. They are mite free and I've dusted with Sevin and put down DE in their dust bath spot. Thanks for your help.
You are cooking the potatoes aren't you? Raw potatoes are poison as are green potatoes.
ReplyDeleteUh oh...I've been feeding them peels and potato parts for months. They seem to be fine. I haven't given them any green ones, of course, but I didn't know they couldn't eat them. I won't do it any more, that's for sure. It's hard enough to keep these guys safe and happy without poisoning them myself.
ReplyDeleteGood news! Somebody started laying this week. I've had three HUGE eggs - all fertile. The others should follow soon, I'm sure.
ReplyDelete