[dam]

can someone tell me why only one of my hens are laying and the other 3 are not they were ment to start laying 2wks ago

[joyfull]

hens are not machines they can start laying any time from 17 weeks through to 35 weeks and some not at all. What breed are they? How old are they? What colour and size and type of comb do they have? Do they squat when you come near? Who told you that they were meant to start laying two weeks ago?
Oh and welcome by the way - why not introduce yourself in the welcome section, and I moved this post from the chatting on the plot bit to here the chickeny pages 

[dam]

o thanks i had them off a farm and they told me that its my first time having backgarden hens so am just trying to find out info about them

[Tazzy]

TYou find their combs start to grow and change to a deeper red when they are about to start, but even when they do begin to lay, don't expect an egg from each every day, it will really depend on the breed. Oh, and are you sure you haven't been given any cockerels?

[Craig69]

Joyful - what does them squatting down when you go near them tell you?
Mine usually do that when i touch them, but nt all the time.

[hillfooter]

That they think you are a cockerel and they are inviting you to mount them!  (Don't attempt to do this!).  It shows they are sexually mature and are about to start laying.  When a cockerel mates he will put his foot on a hens back end which induces her to adopt this stiff winged squat so he can climb on her back and mate.  They don't always do it because they sometimes have headaches.  It's refered to as treading the hens.
HF

[Craig69]

  That made me laugh 

[jhub]

Re the combs turning red when they are nearing maturity,do their legs also turn a paler colour? i noticed this with my hybrids but not sure if it's relevant.
Jane

[GrannieAnnie]

Dam, hybrids are supposed to start laying at 18 weeks and lay well until around 80 weeks, as they were developed originally for the commercial farms.  Most of the Amberlinks I've reared were 24-26 weeks when they started to lay, but last year I re-homed 'Rosie' one of my original Amberlink chicks which was hatched on 7 September 2007.

We thought at first she was a small cockerel as she got very large wattles and comb earlier than any of the others, but she never laid an egg and she never crowed.  I needed the ark she was living in with her friend Broody Mary, so a nice lady took them both on.

I heard from the lady a couple of months ago.  Rosie laid her FIRST egg at 2.5 years old!!!  Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks???   

[Casey76]

jhub, yellow legged hengs legs become paler during the laying season as the colouring which is used to create the yellow in the legs is diverted to make the yolks yellow.  In the non-laying season the legs become darker again.

[dam]

thxs all i will take it in to mind. But i dont know if i do have a cockerel she  bigger then the others and her combs have grow and they are really red how can you tell the differents 

[jhub]

jhub, yellow legged hengs legs become paler during the laying season as the colouring which is used to create the yellow in the legs is diverted to make the yolks yellow.  In the non-laying season the legs become darker again.

Thanks Casey, how fascinating...... what happens with the black leg variety?
Jane

[joyfull]

thxs all i will take it in to mind. But i dont know if i do have a cockerel she  bigger then the others and her combs have grow and they are really red how can you tell the differents 

can you post a picture of your hens so we can see?
Does the bigger one have the sickle tail feathers?
Chances are it is a hen and just getting closer to laying than the others but if you post a photo or two we could perhaps let you know.

[dam]

ok thanks will post a photo soon