ChickaChickaChooCho000
Songster
Heyo hope everyone’s doing well. Just curious as to why my 3 pullets and also other pullets from the flock haven’t been laying at all but they’ve already reached 6-7 months old? Understandably my older hens have taken a break especially due to cold weather lately and just overall egg productive age. I have a Barred Rock, Speckled Sussex, and Splash Red-Laced Wyandotte. They are all the same age, they reach their official 7 months on January 14th. They have been raised for the most part of their life outdoors, they spent their overall first 4 weeks of life in their brooder with sufficient amount of food to always be eating.
The thing is, the weather was very nice as I got them in June, so I let them free range everyday for one hour. Then later on, they were free ranged actively outdoors by the time they were 1-2 months, then I put them with the flock in the coop when they were 3 months.
The thing I was always unsure of was why they grew kind of slow, compared to videos on YouTube mine looked very small, so I worried a lot. I wonder if it was because they were constantly on the move outside since they’re basically free ranged in the backyard, and burn off those nutrients and food too quickly and may be why they don’t grow as quickly as the ones raised in brooders for months? They also didn’t have a surrogate mother to show them what and what not to eat in a free ranged setting.
Right now they look great and are of the same size of my full grown hens, but their combs and wattles haven’t seemed to turn anymore red or larger so far. Is it maybe the weather that might be causing them to not want to start laying yet? Or possibly stress of having to stay cooped up and not having as much activity and sunlight as the other seasons? Maybe their food I’ve been giving them? I first started with Purina Start and Grow but the ones i always received had nasty grain mites or those tiny white ones, which might be the same thing as grain mites haha. But yeah, I then moved onto Scratch and Peck Feeds Organic Grower feed. They are now on Layer but I still mix in some grower just in case the younger members of the flock haven’t reached full adulthood yet. Maybe I should be using all layer feed now and some grit or oyster shells to help promote more calcium for their egg development?
Let me know what I should do or shouldn’t do on cases like these late bloomers. Possibly too many chickens and not enough nest boxes? I have about 6 so there should be enough, and I have those fake ceramic brown eggs to show them where to lay as well. So maybe it could just be not enough space or maybe they don’t have enough privacy, and in this time of year that's hard since everyone’s in the coop. I have about 19 pullets and one female duck that also hasn’t begun laying. Just turned 8 months I think. Not too informed on when Muscovy ducks begin laying. The current coop for winter is roomy but maybe I guess it lacks in more individual space and privacy? Again, let me know any information or thoughts, opinions or experiences with similar problems. I’d like to know them so I don’t make the same mistakes again. As well as they’ve grown up, they don’t seem to be as well developed as they could be. Any diet, different feed, treats or supplements to suggest?
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