average age for eggs

[ashums]

I'm new at raising chickens. I have heard that chickens usually do not produce until 6- 7 months old but when reading posts I have seen many people have chickens laying much younger. Also when is a good time to switch them the laying feed? My chickens are 3 months.

 

[Coop de Grille]

My earliest layer was one day shy of 18 weeks old. Don't switch to layer feed until they are laying. My girls are still on grower/starter feed because I have a lot of younger chicks. I will switch to layer when they are all laying.

 

[Fred's Hens]

There's no NEED to switch them to layer until they actually lay. Layer feed is very similar to grower, except that is dosed with high amounts of calcium, only needed by a laying hen.

18 weeks is plenty early to provide layer, if you find yourself between bags of feed. Many breeds don't start laying until week 26 or even later. Yup, that's six months. Only a very few strains lay any earlier than 18 weeks, and only a few individuals of those strains. If your birds are 12-13 weeks old, you've some time to wait. All good things come to those who wait.

 

[serama breeder]

2 months

 

[A.T. Hagan]

There's no NEED to switch them to layer until they actually lay.  Layer feed is very similar to grower, except that is dosed with high amounts of calcium, only needed by a laying hen.

18 weeks is plenty early to provide layer, if you find yourself between bags of feed. Many breeds don't start laying until week 26 or even later.  Yup, that's six months. Only a very few strains lay any earlier than 18 weeks, and only a few individuals of those strains. If your birds are 12-13 weeks old, you've some time to wait.  All good things come to those who wait.

What Fred said. Time enough to move them to layer when you find the first eggs.

I've had some commercial sex-links lay at sixteen weeks. Had Silkies that did not start to lay until ten months.

 

[TwoCrows]

My Aussies didn't start laying till exactly 6 months old. Every bird and breed is different. So as suggested above, don't start the layer feed until you either start getting the squats, or you see an egg.