What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[Monty14]

I would like to ascertain if anyone has had chickens start to lay much later than expected. I have a Lavender Araucana who is now 12 months old and has never laid an egg. She is free range in our garden with our other chooks. She is spot on in weight, the vet has checked she is 'physically fine' and she gets layers pellets, corn and the occasional greens/seeds. She keeps going in the nest box for an hour or so and comes out clucking like she's laid, but no egg. Her comb is a good colour and she appears very healthy and robust - do I just need to suck it and see?

I have since heard Arauacana's are notorious for late/infrequent laying.

[chuckmum6]

She might be eating her eggs! Once they get a taste they can be difficult to stop, I think you need a 'special op' .... and stake out the nestbox when she is in there!

[Purplemaniacs]

Is she laying somewhere else in the garden?

 

Agatha one of my ex batts likes to visit the nest box but hasn't laid an egg since we have had her.

 

Chrissie

[AndreaT]

My araucana is around 12 months old, she has a lovely red comb, spends a lot of time in the nest box, is very vocal and has been crouching for weeks. I had almost given up hope of her laying as all the other girls who are roughly the same age have been laying for months but she finally laid her first egg last Sunday So far she had laid 5 out of 6 days. They are beautiful and worth waiting for She'll probably surprise you any day now!

[Monty14]

Well that's reassuring that your Araucana has laid eventually! Mine has definitely not laid anywhere else in the garden as I've checked everywhere and there's no evidence, plus she does sit in the nest box and go into that 'egg trance' that chickens do. Fingers crossed she will surprise me soon

[Monty14]

Staked out the nest box: she is doing all the crouching, clucking, etc but no egg. Her comb is a vibrant red. Guess she may be a barren chicken, but she does look lovely

[Daphne]

I expect she is about to come into lay - I've had a late developer this year, 10 months before I saw an egg even though she'd had a red comb since she was about 6 months old

[Redwing]

Araucanas seem to need a kick start sometimes, I've had three now that have been reluctant to lay but fine once they got started

 

Its worth worming your chooks if they havent been done recently. Also sometimes a really high quality feed will get them going

[Monty14]

Have wormed all the chooks and upgraded their pellets, only Tilly the Araucana has never laid an egg out of the six. I suspect she may be a 'false layer' where they exhibit all the traits of laying but produce nothing. Still, she's a sparky gal with the funniest expressions so she stays on.

[Sue]

Try putting an egg down in front of her somewhere when the others aren't around and watch her reactions. Egg eaters will normally run towards it and start pecking at it. It has to be the same colour as she would normally lay, or somewhere near anyway.

[Monty14]

Well Tilly has still never laid - she has a lovely red comb, eats fine and goes through the egg 'motions' but nothing happens. She has been wormed, deloused, ACV in the water, etc. I suspect some early infection or damage to her oviduct before I acquired her.