Easter Egger development question

[lowry075]

Hi, my Easter Egger, Cookie, is six months old. The other two chicks I raised with her, a Brahma and a BR, have begun laying eggs. They are also really big. Cookie is the smallest, and she hasn't started to lay. Are EE's generally smaller than the other breeds I mentioned? She is my smallest of five girls. (I also have a BO and a Wyandotte).

Just wondering...

 

[AinaWGSD]

It depends on what breeds are in the mix, but yes EE do tend to be smaller birds than any of the other breeds you've got. Smaller doesn't mean that she won't lay large eggs or lots of eggs though. Most of the most prolific layers of large eggs are birds that tend to be on the smaller side. When we went to the Crossroads poultry show last month one of the things that impressed me the most was the size of the game bantam eggs in comparison to the size of the hens that laid them! As for age, EE also seem to tend towards later maturity. It's not unheard of for people to wait 6-7 or even 8 months for their EE to lay their first egg. But it comes down to the individual bird sometimes too. Of the 3 EE I got from MPC last year, one was the first of my chickens to start laying and one was the last, laying her first egg almost 2 months after the first girl started laying.

 

[draye]

In my experience most chickens do not begin to lay until they are about 6 months old. Now having said that there are some that will not start laying until the 7 to month marks, and then some not until they are 9 months. All depends on the breed and sometimes the individual chicken.

 

[lowry075]

Thank yooooooo