Coronation Sussex-when will she lay?

[tanyabee]

We have a Coronation Sussex around 17 weeks. I've been told different things by different chicken people. One said that she will be a late layer because of her breed, but another said she will be the first to lay of our little flock (chocolate orpington(will lay quite late), fibro ee's, easter egger). Was hoping someone here had experience with them and can tell me their experience. Ty!

 

[Flockandfowl46]

In my experience she will probably lay later than most because they are a larger breed and slower to mature...woul love to see a photo there are so few in the us

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't have Coronation Sussex but I have some experience with chickens. Some pullets will lay a lot earlier or later (sometimes by months) than others of the same breed, even if they were hatched together and raised together. Each pullet is an individual and will lay when she lays.

Breeds do have general tendencies, that can influence when she is more likely to start laying but it is absolutely not a guarantee. If you only have one pullet it doesn't mean a lot. You have to have enough individuals before averages have any meaning.

If you had 100 C. Sussex and 100 C, Orp pulelts, you might be able to say that your Sussex, on average, started to lay before your Orps. But that does not mean your first egg was from a Sussex or that your last to start laying was an Orp. Breed tendencies apply to averages, not individuals.

Another factor is heredity. If the person that selects which chickens become part of the breeding program uses early egg laying as a selection trait, they will wind up with a flock that starts laying earlier (on average) than a flock where that is not a selection trait. They are still the same breed but they can have different traits in some things.

I understand people want hard and fast answers. It can be hard waiting on those first eggs too, I once waited nine months. But one reason you get so many different answers is that we have such a wide variety of experiences. You don't always get the same results. Your chickens are unique. Hopefully it wont be that much longer for you.

 

[tanyabee]

I don't have Coronation Sussex but I have some experience with chickens. Some pullets will lay a lot earlier or later (sometimes by months) than others of the same breed, even if they were hatched together and raised together. Each pullet is an individual and will lay when she lays.

Breeds do have general tendencies, that can influence when she is more likely to start laying but it is absolutely not a guarantee. If you only have one pullet it doesn't mean a lot. You have to have enough individuals before averages have any meaning.

If you had 100 C. Sussex and 100 C, Orp pulelts, you might be able to say that your Sussex, on average, started to lay before your Orps. But that does not mean your first egg was from a Sussex or that your last to start laying was an Orp. Breed tendencies apply to averages, not individuals.

Another factor is heredity. If the person that selects which chickens become part of the breeding program uses early egg laying as a selection trait, they will wind up with a flock that starts laying earlier (on average) than a flock where that is not a selection trait. They are still the same breed but they can have different traits in some things.

I understand people want hard and fast answers. It can be hard waiting on those first eggs too, I once waited nine months. But one reason you get so many different answers is that we have such a wide variety of experiences. You don't always get the same results. Your chickens are unique. Hopefully it wont be that much longer for you.

Thank you, and that makes sense. I'm very anxiously but patiently waiting for our first

 

[tanyabee]

In my experience she will probably lay later than most because they are a larger breed and slower to mature...woul love to see a photo there are so few in the us

Not the best pics..

 

[RcoM]

In my experience it's 7-8
Months as per textbook UNLESS fed a high quality and high protein diet with great environment. Then 5-6 months instead