I apologize up front. I know you are on a small device and this post will be long, thus hard to read.
My main advice in flock size or a lot of other things about chickens is to be flexible. Try something and adjust as you see fit. You learn a lot by trial and error but you can eventually wind up in a good place.
There is a general cycle of laying that a large flock of hens typically follow, especially the ones you got. I say large flock because you need enough for averages to mean much, any one individual chicken can vary quite a bit and can throw off averages for a smaller flock. When they start laying they lay like gangbusters. For some breeds or individuals that might be 2 or 3 eggs a week, for the ones you got probably around 6 eggs each a week. You should be buried under a mountain of eggs this spring and summer.
It is fairly common for production breed pullets like yours to skip the molt their first fall/winter and lay on through until the following fall, when they molt and stop laying. That's usually spring hatched chicks. Yours are fall hatched so I would expect them to molt the fall of 2019 and stop laying until the molt is over but you may get lucky.
After their first adult molt the eggs are a little larger when they start laying again and they still lay like gangbusters until the next fall, when they molt. After the second adult molt and any adult molt after that they cut back on the frequency of laying. For commercial flocks that is usually in the range of 15% to 20% each molt but for our flocks it can be more. You can always find an exception but on average a 4 or 5 year old hen usually does not lay many eggs.
So for you I'd expect when they start laying next March or April you will get about 7 dozen eggs a week until maybe October or November when it drops off due to the molt, if they molt which I think most of not all will. You may get a few eggs until the molt is over when they pick up laying again. With your breeds and relatively mild winters I would expect laying to start back up December or January, though some may wait for a couple of more months to start. So by spring you will again be buried in eggs. The following fall these hens will molt and totally stop production.
Your friends and neighbors will take some eggs but if you really get an excess any pastor, priest, or minister worth their salt should be able to direct you to a food bank or maybe a family in need that can really use the eggs.
There are different ways to manage this. You can totally replace your flock with pullets when they stop laying enough for you. That's what the commercial operations do. Many of us practice a rotation where we bring in new pullets every year and remove older hens to maintain a flock size. You can buy pullets or hatch them but you will also hatch males. You need plans for them. You can eat or sell the "spent" hens, there should be a livestock auction near you where you can take them.
My suggestion is to keep all 14 of them until spring at least. See how many make it, most or all should but stuff happens. If you feel like you want to cut back on the number you should get top dollar for pullets in the spring.
Good luck! it should be a fun ride.
My main advice in flock size or a lot of other things about chickens is to be flexible. Try something and adjust as you see fit. You learn a lot by trial and error but you can eventually wind up in a good place.
There is a general cycle of laying that a large flock of hens typically follow, especially the ones you got. I say large flock because you need enough for averages to mean much, any one individual chicken can vary quite a bit and can throw off averages for a smaller flock. When they start laying they lay like gangbusters. For some breeds or individuals that might be 2 or 3 eggs a week, for the ones you got probably around 6 eggs each a week. You should be buried under a mountain of eggs this spring and summer.
It is fairly common for production breed pullets like yours to skip the molt their first fall/winter and lay on through until the following fall, when they molt and stop laying. That's usually spring hatched chicks. Yours are fall hatched so I would expect them to molt the fall of 2019 and stop laying until the molt is over but you may get lucky.
After their first adult molt the eggs are a little larger when they start laying again and they still lay like gangbusters until the next fall, when they molt. After the second adult molt and any adult molt after that they cut back on the frequency of laying. For commercial flocks that is usually in the range of 15% to 20% each molt but for our flocks it can be more. You can always find an exception but on average a 4 or 5 year old hen usually does not lay many eggs.
So for you I'd expect when they start laying next March or April you will get about 7 dozen eggs a week until maybe October or November when it drops off due to the molt, if they molt which I think most of not all will. You may get a few eggs until the molt is over when they pick up laying again. With your breeds and relatively mild winters I would expect laying to start back up December or January, though some may wait for a couple of more months to start. So by spring you will again be buried in eggs. The following fall these hens will molt and totally stop production.
Your friends and neighbors will take some eggs but if you really get an excess any pastor, priest, or minister worth their salt should be able to direct you to a food bank or maybe a family in need that can really use the eggs.
There are different ways to manage this. You can totally replace your flock with pullets when they stop laying enough for you. That's what the commercial operations do. Many of us practice a rotation where we bring in new pullets every year and remove older hens to maintain a flock size. You can buy pullets or hatch them but you will also hatch males. You need plans for them. You can eat or sell the "spent" hens, there should be a livestock auction near you where you can take them.
My suggestion is to keep all 14 of them until spring at least. See how many make it, most or all should but stuff happens. If you feel like you want to cut back on the number you should get top dollar for pullets in the spring.
Good luck! it should be a fun ride.
