Orpingtons

[Anonymous]

Hi All
I bought 3 Buff and 2 black Orpingtons in April. They were about 8 weeks old at the time. So they are app 28 weeks old but as yet haven't layed any eggs. Does anyone have any ideas on what i might be doing wrong or am i just too impatient?

Sonya

 

[Anonymous]

hi Sonya,

Are they moulting?If they are that could stop them from starting to lay until they've finished,or spring arrives.Also,orpingtons can get plump very easily,which could stop them laying.Sorry I can't be more definite,expect someone with more experience will reply soon.

 

[Tim]

Modern day Orpingtons have been bred for looks and usually only have a short laying season Utility Orpingtons are a bit better but still need lots of work and are few and far between...

There could be a number of reasons why they haven't laid but they are a slow breed to mature they usually only reach point of lay (well literal point of lay rather than breeder 'point of lay') at about 24- 26 weeks my thoughts are that they have reached POL but since the daylight hours are drawing in, they won't start until the spring.

The good news is that the initial eggs you would have got would be really small and when they come into lay in the spring, the eggs should get to their normal size a lot quicker...

Chickens in their first year generally will not moult -as their feathers have only just grown - but sometimes they do.

Some strains of White Orpington that I have had have been pretty reasonable layers (180 - 200 eggs/year) but all of the Buffs / Blacks I've had (so far!) have been March - end August layers. The White Orps I have at the moment are still laying.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone for the replies. Does the same applie to Faverolles? These are a couple of weeks younger but i thought i read somewhere that this breed are good for laying through the winter. Also any more ideas for controlling lice

Thanks

Sonya

 

[Tim]

I don't know much about Faverolles I'm afraid.

For lice - have a look at this:
Lice on Chickens

I tend to put diatom in their dust baths from time to time and only really worry if there are loads when I will dust individual birds down.

 

[victorias poultry]

Your Orpingtons will probably not start laying until the Spring, as Tim says Orpingtons are slow developers and as a rule don;t tend to start laying until around 26 weeks, and as daylight is limited this time of year, you may well not start to get eggs from "the girls" until march next year.
Good Luck!