[youngnewbie]

Hello all

Just a quick question really, We are 3 weeks into our new hobby and the girls have settled in really well. They seem to be really happy! They have bits a pieces to climb on, twigs to peck at and lots of run space. O and my two children (ages11 & 6) love to sit with them and cuddle them after school.  My only worry is that the egg production seems a bit slow.

They are all around 24/25 weeks, so far we have had only 2 eggs  and they were only laid this week - one on tuesday and one today.

Is this normal? Are my expectations a bit high?

[bantam novice]

Hello Young Newbie,
Your hens will start to lay given time.  It sounds as if they have wonderful new quarters.  How many do you have?
Do you have oyster shell and grit available for them?  What are you feeding them?
Good luck and keep us posted    By the way we love to see pictures of your chickens on this forum 

[Lewjam]

As a note, what breed are they?

Each breed will lay at different rates and ages.

If you have some really pretty pure breed type hens, you may find you dont get half as many eggs as a battery hen style hybrid.

Lew

[Casey76]

Hi youngnewbie

Well your pullets are the right age to lay, but the time of year is against you I'm afraid   With the nights coming in earlier now, you may find that you don't get very many eggs at all until the spring, so I would treasure each and every one!

I have 18 pullets and 1 hen (pullets are hens under a year old), all of laying age (mine are more than 30 weeks) and I haven't had a single egg for 3 weeks now... I have some pullets which have never laid yet, so now I'm not expecing any more until probably march next year

I have a mix of pure breeds and commercial hybrids too (trying to prevent the egg drought I had last year) but it doesn't seem to have worked!

[NormandyMary]

I agree with all that has been said. We can never assume that point of lay means we are going to get eggs straight away, and certainly, some breeds start later than others. Ive been very lucky indeed with my last lot bought only 12 days ago. Im already getting 4 eggs a day, albeit most of them are small (but perfectly formed). A couple Ive had in the last few days have been quite a decent size.
It will happen, and before you know it, you'll be over run with eggs!