Help with egg laying!

[lintlicker]

Hey everyone,

We have 28 hens and 4 oosters (1 brahma and 3 silkie roos and might re-home 2 roos) and 6 ducks (2 male 4 females) in a 50'x50' covereed/enclosed run with a 10'x18' chicken coop and a small separate duck house inside the run. The birds are roughly 20.5 weeks old with a hatch date of 3/11/24. We have been getting 1-2 eggs per day (buffs appear to be laying those) for about a 1-2 weeks now, but wasnt sure if we should be getting more than that? The breed we have are a mixture of Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Eggers, Brahma, Black Laced wyandotte and splash ameracauna. They have PLENTY of access to egg layers feed inside hte coop and usualy take a big scoop outside for them in the morning and the nighttime. Ducks have been laying for about 1 week now consistently 2 eggs per day like clockwork.

From what I observe, the ducks do hoard the water a bit. We have a 7 gallon in the coop of which the ducks cant get to, and two 4 gallon waterers outside and the ducks will dirty the water pretty quickly, we do have a separate small duck pond in the run as well.

Perhaps its still just a bit early before they can start laying? Im used to my RIRs laying by now in the past...

 

[igorsMistress]

G’morning. It’s normal, some lay earlier than others. I have had some girls lay as early as 20 weeks, some not until 26 weeks or so. Are you providing oyster shell? Sometimes the hens need a little extra calcium despite the layer feed.

 

[lintlicker]

G’morning. It’s normal, some lay earlier than others. I have had some girls lay as early as 20 weeks, some not until 26 weeks or so. Are you providing oyster shell? Sometimes the hens need a little extra calcium despite the layer feed.

Good Morning,

Yes we do provide oyster shell here and there as well as crushed up egg shells from eggs we consume. Maybe they just need a bit more time lol

 

[HollowOfWisps]

They just need more time. They are all right around that age, but egg laying especially when you have a big young group is usually a trickle effect at first and then all of a sudden you are getting all of the eggs!

 

[igorsMistress]

Good Morning,

Yes we do provide oyster shell here and there as well as crushed up egg shells from eggs we consume. Maybe they just need a bit more time lol

I bet that’s it. Once a few get going they all seem to jump on board pretty quick. Maybe leave the oyster shell out 24/7 so they have access to it when they want it.

 

[lintlicker]

Thanks for the great ideas @igorsMistress and @HollowOfWisps ill leave the oyster shell out permanently to see what happens with that

 

[fluffycrow]

20 weeks is still considered early for LFs, especially since some of the breeds you have mature a little slower.

Give it some more time, it's better for them to lay at an older age anyway

 

[igorsMistress]

Thanks for the great ideas @igorsMistress and @HollowOfWisps ill leave the oyster shell out permanently to see what happens with that

Pretty soon you’ll be buried in eggs! I love your name BTW

 

[lintlicker]

Pretty soon you’ll be buried in eggs! I love your name BTW

lol its been my name for a long time on multiple different platforms, ever since I saw that orbit commercial

"Who you callin' a cootie queen you lint licker?" haha

 

[LaFleche]

lol its been my name for a long time on multiple different platforms, ever since I saw that orbit commercial

"Who you callin' a cootie queen you lint licker?" haha

Giving the ducks their own run with duck house and pond will lower the stress for both flocks as their living requirements are quite different and your chicken hens could get easily hurt by drakes trying to mate them.

And as you already mentioned, there are two roosters/cockerels too many. Your flock will noticeably relax when they are gone.