are my bantams laying early?

ChickQueen77

Songster
May 23, 2025
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I have 2 leghorn pullets, 2 partridge wyandotte pullets & 1 Rhode island red pullet. I have 1 partridge wyandotte cockerel & 1 RIR cockerel. there is also 3 barred plymouth rock pullets & 1 buff orpington pullet. they are all in the same coop the leghorns, wyandottes & RIRs are all about 4-4.5 months old and the barred rocks and the orpington are 3 months old and I have been finding eggs in their coop. I have never heard of a chicken even a bantam laying at 4 months old.

Is it just my birds or are any of these breeds early layers.

all except the rocks and orpington are bantams
 
It's probably your 4-4 1/2 month old birds. If the eggs are brown it's either your wyandottes or RIRs laying and I would be more inclined to think it's the RIRs, if the eggs are white it's your leghorns laying. A way to check as well is to check everyone's vent, the vent of a bird laying will be large and moist, a nonlaying bird's vent will be smaller and dryer. In any case, enjoy your eggs! Care to post pictures?
 
The earliest I've ever had a pullet lay its first egg was 16 weeks. The latest was 9 months. 16 weeks is early but I've seen it. If I have 10 pullets I generally get one or two eggs by 20 weeks, about half are laying by 24 weeks, and all of them are typically laying by 27 to 28 weeks. But as I said, I've had individuals earlier or later.

Congratulations on those first eggs!!!
 

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