So, after all the thinking and planning and building, all the pouring over chicken catalogues and that trip to the post office in the early early morning and a month of brooder in the house and ....today they're 19 weeks and two of them started paying back. I figure these cost me about $500 each....
Looking at combs I think one is from my Dominique and one is from my Golden Comet. The only others one with such a red comb are the Sicilian Buttercup and the Golden Lakenvelder and I think they lay white eggs. I was really impressed that they went to the nesting boxes first time to lay. I put nest egg gourds in there a few weeks back and they seem to have done their job.
What's really annoying is that I stopped at the store on the way home and bought a dozen eggs...hopefully my last ones!
But here's a serious question....17 hens, two of them laying now, 15 not yet. When do I switch them to layer mash? I'm inclined to do after the half bag of Flock Feeder I have now is gone.

Looking at combs I think one is from my Dominique and one is from my Golden Comet. The only others one with such a red comb are the Sicilian Buttercup and the Golden Lakenvelder and I think they lay white eggs. I was really impressed that they went to the nesting boxes first time to lay. I put nest egg gourds in there a few weeks back and they seem to have done their job.
What's really annoying is that I stopped at the store on the way home and bought a dozen eggs...hopefully my last ones!

But here's a serious question....17 hens, two of them laying now, 15 not yet. When do I switch them to layer mash? I'm inclined to do after the half bag of Flock Feeder I have now is gone.