When do leghorns start laying?

[EggSighted4Life]

I also can't keep them penned in, they fly over everything. Like, EVERYTHING.

I stop this by taking out some lift... with a close bilateral cut to BOTH wings... 1 wing as suggested by many was extremely useless in my cases.
https://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/clipping-chicken-wings.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ings-of-your-chicken-to-prevent-flight.47727/
I cut the length even with the row of shorter feathers on top of the ones I'm cutting, usually and only on the birds who need it to keep them safe within my boundaries.

No normal shade does not interfere with laying in my experience.

 

[sawilliams]

Heat can for sure. New hens will lay smaller eggs at first. Because of the heat they could even be soft shelled since you free range you might have a egg eater esp. with soft shells. If you have no luck with finding eggs look for egg yolk on somebody’s face. LH are wonderful layers once they get going. Is there anyway you could coop-up the hens you want to watch to verify IF they are laying? It’s exciting...but particularly when it’s their first egg. Good luck!

There is no signs of an egg eater, I have had issues with this but it stopped after I hung curtains, also I got rid of my Guinea hens about the same time and 1of them was a known egg eater. I have also not good any signs of soft or broken eggs unless those eggs are being laid else she then the coop, which I'm also not finding. I have 2 chicks in the transition coop right now, I needed to check thier age again but they need a little more time, they where seperate from the flock at a week old after thier mama was killed by a predator.

I stop this by taking out some lift... with a close bilateral cut to BOTH wings... 1 wing as suggested by many was extremely useless in my cases.
https://www.raising-happy-chickens.com/clipping-chicken-wings.html

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ings-of-your-chicken-to-prevent-flight.47727/
I cut the length even with the row of shorter feathers on top of the ones I'm cutting, usually and only on the birds who need it to keep them safe within my boundaries.

No normal shade does not interfere with laying in my experience.

I've been debating clipping thier other wing, I have a few right now (basically half of my youngsters) that are all still small enough to get lift over the fence. I know most of them will be fine once thier put some weight on but in my experience most smaller standard chickens can get pretty good height as pullets.

 

[Acre4Me]

<sigh> my leghorns, three of them, have yet to lay any eggs. They are 23 weeks old. They are my only white egg layers, so I would know that they were laying if I got a white egg. In fact, I have 12 pullets, across 6 breeds, and only 6 are laying at 23 weeks.

 

[sawilliams]

19+ weeks I got my first white egg today, in the nests where it belongs.

Now to wait on the maran (FBCM) though between her and the 2 blue laced red wyandottes I'm not sure who will take longer. The speckled Sussex are close but I'm waiting on them also

 

[Killer Tomato]

19+ weeks I got my first white egg today, in the nests where it belongs.

Now to wait on the maran (FBCM) though between her and the 2 blue laced red wyandottes I'm not sure who will take longer. The speckled Sussex are close but I'm waiting on them also

Congrats! You'll have to celebrate that first egg with much ceremony!

I'm waiting on my Marans and Welsummer pullets too. They are acting *ready*, exploring the nest boxes, and singing the egg song every morning like the big girls, but no eggs yet. They are just practicing I guess. Mine are 22 weeks, which would be early for those breeds, I've heard. They both began squatting for me two weeks ago, and my Marans hen has stopped being bullied by the little Leghorns (finally!) -- she outweighs them a lot, but was really submissive until now. My poor little Welsummer is still the bottom of the bunch, and I hope she learns to defend herself a bit. I've never had a nicer hen. Just a love.

 

[sawilliams]

Congrats! You'll have to celebrate that first egg with much ceremony!

I'm waiting on my Marans and Welsummer pullets too. They are acting *ready*, exploring the nest boxes, and singing the egg song every morning like the big girls, but no eggs yet. They are just practicing I guess. Mine are 22 weeks, which would be early for those breeds, I've heard. They both began squatting for me two weeks ago, and my Marans hen has stopped being bullied by the little Leghorns (finally!) -- she outweighs them a lot, but was really submissive until now. My poor little Welsummer is still the bottom of the bunch, and I hope she learns to defend herself a bit. I've never had a nicer hen. Just a love.

Yeah my speckles send the maran are actually looking like they could turn any time now. It's funny seeing the white egg becuase 3 of my blues are so light right now I almost can't tell till I bring them inside.

Oddly I haven't really had any pecking order issues this year. The younger ones have to wait to eat but that's about it. But then again I've had 5 sets of chicks this year. Way to many chickens but I think somehow everyone just learned to keep to thier own age group and stay out of the way of others. I had at my max around 50 birds (including 3 guineas that were rehomed) but I'm already down to 26 in the coop with 10 cockerels in a grow out pen. Is been crazy around here.

 

[gator75]

17 wks is really young to lay.

 

[sawilliams]

17 wks is really young to lay.

?

 

[Killer Tomato]

Yeah my speckles send the maran are actually looking like they could turn any time now. It's funny seeing the white egg becuase 3 of my blues are so light right now I almost can't tell till I bring them inside.

Oddly I haven't really had any pecking order issues this year. The younger ones have to wait to eat but that's about it. But then again I've had 5 sets of chicks this year. Way to many chickens but I think somehow everyone just learned to keep to thier own age group and stay out of the way of others. I had at my max around 50 birds (including 3 guineas that were rehomed) but I'm already down to 26 in the coop with 10 cockerels in a grow out pen. Is been crazy around here.

My Cuckoo Marans laid her first egg in the nest box today! Small, misshapen, and pale (so, I suspect she's probably a Barred Rock -- sigh), but she did it! We'll see if it darkens up, or if I have YET ANOTHER feed store screw up, like my last Marans (who ended up being a Jersey Giant. BIG difference.). Now I'm just waiting on the Welsummer, who will probably end up being an Easter Egger, or something.

You're lucky you don't have many pecking order issues. Night time, when mine go to roost is just hell these days, with my lead hen being the biggest bully. They are ruthless. We have more than enough space in the coop, but the big hens are so pissy about "their" space, and defending it. It's slowly getting better, but distressing to witness.

 

[sawilliams]

My Cuckoo Marans laid her first egg in the nest box today! Small, misshapen, and pale (so, I suspect she's probably a Barred Rock -- sigh), but she did it! We'll see if it darkens up, or if I have YET ANOTHER feed store screw up, like my last Marans (who ended up being a Jersey Giant. BIG difference.). Now I'm just waiting on the Welsummer, who will probably end up being an Easter Egger, or something.

You're lucky you don't have many pecking order issues. Night time, when mine go to roost is just hell these days, with my lead hen being the biggest bully. They are ruthless. We have more than enough space in the coop, but the big hens are so pissy about "their" space, and defending it. It's slowly getting better, but distressing to witness.

It was rough for a little while when the oldest pullets started to roost. I have 4 8ft roosting bars my upper flock all rooste on the top 2 and everyone else on the lowest. The first mama broody was the one that really chanced the pecking order. She's one of the origanal first 6 and higher in the pecking order so one she went back to the roosts her 3 chicks where right there on the top bar with her. My 2 seebrights seem to be having a little tougher time right now. They decided to move into the lower mini pen in the run instead of the mini pen outside the run. I may have to build them a larger seperate run. I noticed some evidence of feather pecking today on both of them.