15 Week Old Chickens laying soon?

[Jo1705]

Our family has two Doms, two GLWs, two Buff Orpingtons and an Australorp. All of them are which 15 weeks old but they are still being fed organic starter and grower. When will each of the breeds start to lay? P.S. when should I stop feeding them the starter and grower.

 

[Ridgerunner]

When will each of the breeds start to lay?

When they do. I understand you read a lot about different breeds on here but the reality is that each chicken is an individual regardless of breed. I've had several different breeds, a couple of them yours, the Orp and Australorp. There were often weeks and occasionally months between when one started laying compared to another of the same breed.

I've had pullets start laying at 16 weeks (really rare), I had some designer chicks from a breeder that did not start for 9 months. If yours are from a hatchery I'd expect to see an egg or maybe two if you are lucky by 20 weeks. Most of them should be laying by 6 to 7 months. If they are from a breeder I have no idea.

P.S. when should I stop feeding them the starter and grower.

I would not switch to Layer with the extra calcium until I saw the first egg. But I never feed mine Layer, they stay on Starter (if baby chicks are in the flock) or Grower all the time. I offer oyster shell on the side, the ones that need it for egg shells seem to know to eat it while the ones that don't need the extra calcium do not eat enough to harm themselves. You could offer oyster shell on the side now.

 

[Lady J]

I got my birds (English Orpingtons) in mid-May. They were approximately 8 weeks old. They are big girls now, and I'm wondering when I should start watching for eggs and where? I'm guessing they won't just naturally go in a nesting box will they? They could lay the first eggs in the bedding of the coop couldn't they? For all I know, there could be eggs piling up somewhere already. Lol. Kidding. I am watching pretty closely. Thoughts out there?

 

[aart]

I got my birds (English Orpingtons) in mid-May. They were approximately 8 weeks old. They are big girls now, and I'm wondering when I should start watching for eggs and where? I'm guessing they won't just naturally go in a nesting box will they? They could lay the first eggs in the bedding of the coop couldn't they? For all I know, there could be eggs piling up somewhere already. Lol. Kidding. I am watching pretty closely. Thoughts out there?

Could be soon...or not.
Most breeds start laying between 18-28 weeks.
First eggs are often not in nests, especially if there are no older layers around.
Make sure nests are easily accessible and put a fake egg in all but one of them.
If you free range, they could be piling up somewhere.

Here's some tips on how to tell.....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

 

[Gray Farms]

I got my birds (English Orpingtons) in mid-May. They were approximately 8 weeks old. They are big girls now, and I'm wondering when I should start watching for eggs and where? I'm guessing they won't just naturally go in a nesting box will they? They could lay the first eggs in the bedding of the coop couldn't they? For all I know, there could be eggs piling up somewhere already. Lol. Kidding. I am watching pretty closely. Thoughts out there?

English Orpingtons start laying much later than most other breeds. Usually around 10 months of age. Which means they will hit 10 months mid winter. So you may not see full egg laying until next spring. Honestly if you bought English Orpingtons primarily for egg production you bought the wrong breed. I've raised English Orpingtons for many years and they are by far my worst layers.

 

[Lady J]

English Orpingtons start laying much later than most other breeds. Usually around 10 months of age. Which means they will hit 10 months mid winter. So you may not see full egg laying until next spring. Honestly if you bought English Orpingtons primarily for egg production you bought the wrong breed. I've raised English Orpingtons for many years and they are by far my worst layers.

Thanks for the info. It's OK if they are not very strong layers. I want some eggs, but it's just me, so I don't want to be overrun with them. I bought them primarily because they are beautiful, gentle birds.

 

[Gray Farms]

Thanks for the info. It's OK if they are not very strong layers. I want some eggs, but it's just me, so I don't want to be overrun with them. I bought them primarily because they are beautiful, gentle birds.

Sounds like you bought the perfect breed then.

 

[WVduckchick]

Thanks for the info. It's OK if they are not very strong layers. I want some eggs, but it's just me, so I don't want to be overrun with them. I bought them primarily because they are beautiful, gentle birds.

Mine were great layers.... but they were verrrrry broody!

 

[Ridgerunner]

When they start to lay depends a lot on heredity. There are several other factors too, how they are fed and the time of year for example, but heredity is big. If the person selecting which chickens get to breed uses early laying as one of the traits they look for you often wind up with a flock that starts to lay pretty early. Hatcheries tend to do that since they are in the business of needing hatching eggs. They don't want to feed a chicken for months and get no eggs.

If early egg laying is not a selection criteria then that flock tends to start laying later. For example, someone raising chickens for show are primarily interested in what a judge sees. A judge does not see how early a pullet lays, it's not a judging criteria anyway. Plus breeders breeding for show tend to wait until the hen is older before deciding which ones get to breed. They can judge the show qualities better when they have a bit if age on them. There is generally no incentive to select for early laying.

That's why I ventured a guess in my earlier post if they are hatchery birds but will not venture a guess if they are from a breeder.

 

[Lady J]

Thank you. They are from a breeder.