Malays

pomeranian · **Joined:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:25 pm **Posts:** 3

At what age should my malays start to lay, they are 21 weeks and they have not laid a single egg

chookmad 123 · **Joined:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 9:53 pm **Posts:** 6

They are not called may lays for nothing

You have to wait till they are up to six months or more.
then they will often only lay between 12 - 20 egg and go clucky.
hope this helps.

OakA · **Posted:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 11:11 pm

Malays are not a laying breed, it is a good commercial later that is laying at 21 weeks.
After breeding and specialising in them for 40 yrs it is unrealistic to expect them to lay yet.
They are not mature enough to lay until past 6 mths, not fully mature until thier 2nd year or over 12 mths.
Don't dispair I have had hens well, healthy and breeding still at 10 yrs old.
I don't breed from my females until they are hens, pullet eggs are for home use (or used in the bantamisation programme), that way I get good size chickens that help to improve the size and stamina of the fowls and brood stock.
The males are a different story, you have to back your judgement and use a cockerel in his first year or you may only get 3 seasons from them, usually by 5 they are dead, the huge size and weight they can die easily in the heat, last December I lost 4 in 2 days in a heatwave.If I have a cock past 4 yo I consider myself lucky.For this reason I always retain a few extra cockerels each season which I refer to as my "insurance policy", so when I lose a brood cock I have a near relative ready in the wings to replace him in the breeding pen.
They are an unusual breed in that they will continue to lay while they progressively moult in the autumn, for this reason I am usually able to breed in the autumn and rear indoors through the winter, then when the first warm days of spring arrive they are turned out to grow and develop throught spring and summer thus getting the maximum growth, strength and physical development.
As for productivity they are not a disgrace if your foundation were reasonable layers and attention to this characteristic is not neglected in your selection processes.
You may have realised I am passionate about them, I was first smitten at 8yo, a picture in a very old book, it was not until my 20's that I was able to get the real Mc Coy from Adelaide as none were available in those days in NSW, thankfully that situation has now changed and they are now very popular.
Good Luck, always glad to come across another breed enthusiast.

pomeranian · **Joined:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:25 pm **Posts:** 3

So looks like I may have the wrong chickens, dam. The person I got them off never mentioned they don't lay well but I guess it was all about selling them. Will it be ok to get another chicken breed and put with them?

OakA · **Posted:** Thu Oct 21, 2010 4:39 pm

Sorry Pomeranian, the dealer/sharks are always at that.
You will not salvage a renowned laying breed from them but if you crossed to any dual purpose Soft feather breed would end up with some reasonable home layers and a TOP killer for the table.
It was the Malay that played a significant roll in the development of todays broiler chickens.
I had a friend who borrowed a Malay cock and used him over Isa Brown hens, he was dressing pullets at 6 & 1/2 lbs, you could do worse than try similar and would have a reasonable layer of lovely big brown eggs into the bargain.
As a breed they are very docile, thier looks belie thier temperament, they are also quite intelligent as fowls go.
My originals from SA, layed each day in a sizable crate in the VW Kombi for the 7 days we travelled around and for the trip home to Sydney.

Raf · **Posted:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 9:10 am

depending on where you are I may be able to help you with some cross wyandottes, send me a pm if you like

Raf

HBG · **Joined:** Thu Sep 10, 2009 6:45 pm **Posts:** 176

Yeh it's always a buyer beware unfortunately

HBG

afewbroody · **Joined:** Sat Oct 23, 2010 2:49 pm **Posts:** 3

Are they true pure Malays? my malays are fairly good layers yes not as good as Isa's but thats no the breed anyway

Chicken Hawk · **Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2010 8:16 pm

I have to agree my Malays are reasonable layers, I get an egg from each hen at least every second day. And they are a great exibiton bird.

pomeranian · **Joined:** Wed Oct 20, 2010 3:25 pm **Posts:** 3

I actually just like the look of them so I will keep them I will have to get some good layers though or the other half will have a fit about feeding them and not getting enough eggs. What so you recommend that will get on with the malays and lay lots of eggs?

AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Malays

Who is on the Forum