15 weeks and already laying

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New to the forum
My wife and I live on 6 acres outside of Des Moines and this spring we decided to get our 9 and 11yo's a hobby. The hobby was 17 sexlinks from the local tractor supply this spring. They have a nice coop and are allowed to wander the pasture with our 2 cows. About 7pm every night they return to their coop and roost then we simply close the door and reopen it in the AM.
As usual after coffee I go up (BTW my wife and I are 50ish) open the door to let them out this morning. I decided to work on my old muscle car in the barn right next to the coop and heard a rucus. I went out expecting a cat or ?? and back in the corner of the barn outside there were 18 eggs. Most small some large and it occored to me that we had heard this same rucus begining about 4 days earlier.
The mystery is we too expected late sepember as the 20 week mark we fed them the standard stuff they sell you when you buy baby chicks but the feild is the main diet. We hadnt even built the nests in the coop because we had plenty of time. But not any more.
Anyone else have early birds?
Mike and Mindy

 

[CarolJ]

Wow! That's wonderful! My 7 pullets are 18 1/2 weeks - and not a single egg yet! Congratulations!

 

[savingpurple]

yes congratulations!! I am impatiently waiting for mine. I have a coworker that bought hers, same breed, at the same time as I did, and hers are already laying. Mine are getting close, but nothing.....tapping foot here!! LOL

Enjoy !!!

Edited to add , that I am 50ish and this is my 1st experience with chickens. LOVE it !!

 

[Fred's Hens]

Not unusual for Red sex links, especially if they are from commercial stock, which is highly likely. Time to get the nesting boxes open for business and get them laying in those boxes before heading out for a day of grazing. Most Red Sex Links are bred to lay early in the morning and finish up, as a flock, by 9 or 10 am.