Hens still not laying

[minskey]

Hi All, just wondering if anyone would know why my Calder Ranger hens & Speckledy hen are not laying yet. I've had the Calder's for about 2 months, in that time one of them has grown really large & red combs/wattles and now she keeps going into the nest box & sitting {not on eggs}so I think she might be on the verge of laying, the other two still have small combs as does the Speckledy.
I have a Bluebell & Brown hen who both lay.
I'm just a little confused about it all

[di]

I can't offer any well experienced answer but ours even tho were all the same age began laying at different times~We bought the 1st 10 at POL & aweek later we had our 1st few eggs & a few had large red combs~the others over a few weeks caught up.we also bought 2 chicks at start of june~both hatched at the same time one of them has a very red large comb & I think she may have started laying(hard to tell with 10 others!)whereas her sis,s comb is still very nearly nonexistent.I don't know for fact but am assuming that chickens,like humans,mature at different times?
Also if you're feeling down about it then I hope Snadger won't mind me suggesting you look at some of his posts~getting chickens the previous owner had given up on & has since had 10 eggs in one day!
Hope yours all start laying soon.
BTW~I know that some breeds lay more eggs than others,~maybe worth googling to see if the breeds you have are frequent layers?

[minskey]

Thanks andi&di,
the plot thickens; there was a bit of a hoo ha going on this morning so popped over to see what's going on & spotted one of the layers coming out the house eating a wood shaving, looked inside the house & saw 2 splodges of yolk in defferent places, so she was eating a membrane not wood shaving! found the other membrane but whats worrying me now is I also found a very thin shelled egg empty & outside the hose, had been pecked. I know one hen had laid a few soft bottomed eggs.
I feed layers pelletts on demand with added grit & oyster shell.
Is this the beggining of a major problem or just two more hens staring to lay

[Polly Fouracre]

Give them time! They will decide when they want to start laying, they will mature at different times (like any animal) and I'm sure you'll be over-run with eggs before long.

[di]

Again no expert but can tell yiou that some of ours layed soft shells at the start~not had a problem since.Just suggest you clear it as soon as you're aware it's there.Don't think eating from a soft shelled egg will necessarily mean egg peckers in the future~don't know how soft your shells were but ours were near nonexistent & the yummy centre was there for the taking~hopefully they won't recognise a hard shelled egg as being the same & will leave it alone.

[frias]

I've been told that wild birds always eat broken eggs to clean up the mess so it doesn't attract predators. Perhaps this is why hens do it too.

[Polly Fouracre]

I've been told that wild birds always eat broken eggs to clean up the mess so it doesn't attract predators. Perhaps this is why hens do it too.

Yes they certainly do and some will get a taste for eggs! Make sure they have plenty of oyster grit to peck at. This will ensure a good,hard shell.