Im new to chickens, I have questions

I'm adding artificial light now as I live in northern mn. If you search my previous posts there is a post on lighting and heating. I just changed my "on time " on my light timer to 4am today. My girls are roosting by 7:00 pm now as it is dark by 7:30. Your breeds are hearty and do well in cold weather. Ventilation is more important than the temp. If your coop is small and produces allot of moisture in the winter months that will be more of a problem than cooler temps. I don't plan on using any heat source unless it gets really brutal cold. Once snow falls my chickens will be cooped in the insulted coop and their run will be inside the barn so that won't be exposed to frozen ground or snow at all. Their combs and feet can easily get frost bite. Short of that they are winter hearty. I have set up a fodder system so they will have no need to forage outside once the temps deep below freezing.

Weird question, is laying crumble the same as laying mash? Lol I know I sound hilarious ,but yeah im new to this

They serve the same purpose, just different feed types.

Essentially they are the same thing ingredient wise. Mash is usually mixed with a little water so it is more of an oatmeal type consistency. Looking at your girls combs you still have a week or two to go. When you see your roo mounting your girls you will know your close. I'm not suggesting that you need a roo for hens to lay as you don't. It's just nature that when your girls start putting out the signs to the roo that their reproductive system is kicking in. My roo has 23 hens so he is usually pretty worn out. He is just a flock protector for me. I don't hatch out my own eggs. When your roo bangs one of your girls ( it happens fast so you won't always catch it) that girl is ready to start laying. If your first egg or two are mutants ( you will know) don't worry about it just remove them as quickly as you can. Your first good eggs will most likely be small. That is also normal. This next point many vary on. I believe from my experience stress is a Hugh factor in egg production. Chickens get stressed for many different reasons. When my pullets lay their first few good eggs I don't remove them from the nest for a few hours. Your hens will be just as proud of those first few eggs as you are. After all they perceive them as off spring. I know this may sound silly but I don't let my new layers see me take their eggs. Taking an egg " hot off the press" can stress the bird out and if you are the cause of the stress in the chickens mind they can get nervous when they see you. I know many will say I'm crazy with this thought but chickens are smarter than we give credit for. When I see a pullet egg in the nest I leave it until the next picking unless it is the last picking of the day. If you try this you can than see which of your girls is the new layer as they visit their new egg off and on throughout the day. I know this sounds crazy but when I pick eggs I can tell you which chicken laid which egg just from the unique characteristics of each egg. I'm not not saying this full proof as chickens will toss curve balls nor am I saying I can tell each of 23 different hens eggs apart. I'm just saying that as you get to know your girls habits and personalities you will also get know their laying habits. Many factors will determine when your chickens will start laying. Don't stress over it. Keeping them happy and healthy will determine more than anything when they start leaving you gifts.

Good luck, make sure you take a pic and post your first egg.

Thanks you, you have been so helpful, ill def post my firsr egg, cant wait.lol

Here is a couple pics of today's first collection. There are 2 pullets eggs one is the first good egg for one of the barred rocks. She laid a soft shell less egg on Wednesday . You can see the size difference. The last photo shows what 2 of the pullets laid about a month ago on their first lays.

Wow thats awesome, I cant wait for them to lay, believe it or not im excited!