sarkymite Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 C'mon already Petula!! I'm getting impatient!! Seriously, can anyone shed any further light on the "point of lay" business and what is the range of ages where they will start laying? The breeder said all of our hens are "about the same age". She checked them all when boxing them up and said going on the positioning of the pelvic bone they should all be either laying already or literally on the point of starting. We've had Hen and Petula since Saturday 1st Nov, and Wilma since Saturday 8th Nov. Hen laid her first one (well, the first with us) last Wednesday, and then missed Thursday, and has given us an egg every day since then. Her eggs are small (but getting bigger). We know they are hers as she laid two in isolation and her eggs have a faint but noticeable white speckle on the brown shell. Wilma has been with us for just 4 days and has given us 2 eggs - on Sunday and Monday (nothing today!). We know they are hers as she makes an incredible fuss over laying them and makes sure everyone knows she is in the nest. For Hours. And Hours. They are smaller than Hen's and have a faint but noticeable dark brown speckle on the brown shell. But Petula..... *sigh*..... still no egg! Physically she's the biggest and we thought she'd lay first as her comb and wattle are the most grown up looking. So what gives? We think the hens are about 6 months old. Patience isn't one of my strong points.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 What breeds are they? One of my Pekins is 8 months old and showing no sign of laying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Patience isn't one of my strong points.... I had to wait about three months on a first egg when I got mine. (They were only 12 weeks) I think you can survive another few days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarkymite Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 What breeds are they? One of my Pekins is 8 months old and showing no sign of laying They are all hybrids. Petula is an "oxford blue" - which is rhode island red x coucou maran. I think possibly very similar to the bluebelle type. Hen and Wilma are brown hens based on rhode island red but my understanding is they are each slightly different parentage as one has black feathers speckled in, the other has white (and their eggs are slightly speckled accordingly) - the breeder said they were different strains of the same hybrid basically? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monty14 Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Now is a poor time to come into lay due to reduced daylight hours. Some breeds adapt better to this than others and maybe Petula needs a bit longer. Extra protein goes a long way too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullethunter Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Sorry Sarkymite I knew they were hybrids - had forgotten! Same as Monty14 said then really. They're all different, Petula just isn't ready yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
