Cochin pullets laying early?

[dct10]

Hello all. So we have a new batch of cochin pullets we ordered from McMurray's. They hatched in mid-June and are now roughly 5 1/2 months old. They are still in our garage as they are still not quite ready to be introduced to the big kids. We began finding eggs about a month ago which would have put them at about 4 1/2 months. Now 5 out of 7 of these girls are laying an egg every day. They were getting organic starter feed up until we started finding eggs. Our other cochins were more like 9 months before they started laying. Does anyone have any input on this? They are healthy and happy. Just seems pretty early to me.

 

[NatJ]

Are all the Cochins from the same source? Are they the same colors?
The "same" kind of chickens might start laying at a different age if they come from a different hatchery, because each flock has slightly different genetics. Even different colors from the same hatchery might start laying at different ages, if the hatchery keeps the colors separate and does not let them interbreed.

Do you know how many hours of light they are getting each day?

Age of lay is partly determined by how much light they get while they are growing, especially as they get close to laying age. So if this group (in your garage) has been getting more light than the previous ones, that could easily be the cause of the early laying.