I don't even know my girls?

[JJW2018]

Was telling the OP that it's not a bad thing if they don't know their bird's ages

Oh ok lol

 

[JJW2018]

Mature red sex link hens - possibly past optimum production years. What's their history ?

Really I have had them for about a month and I bought them from a lady who had probably 1000 birds I knew nothing about chickens at the time and still know very little but she said they just started to lay. But it makes sense for you to say they are older because out of 17 hens I get about 2 eggs a day. I have a feeling I was taken advantage of.

 

[JJW2018]

How long have you had them?

About 1 month and when I got them the lady said they were molting for the first time.

 

[JedJackson]

Really I have had them for about a month and I bought them from a lady who had probably 1000 birds I knew nothing about chickens at the time and still know very little but she said they just started to lay. But it makes sense for you to say they are older because out of 17 hens I get about 2 eggs a day. I have a feeling I was taken advantage of.

You were taken advantage of if you were told they were just starting to lay. Like Sourland said, these girls look like they are past their prime production years.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Just starting to lay and molting for the first time are different ages, generally speaking. And they're different by at a minimum of six months. I think your girls are probably about 2-3 years old, though the fact that they're molting and it's fall goes a long way towards explaining the lack of eggs.

If they're just starting to lay they wouldn't be molting. If they started laying in the early spring they MIGHT molt this year.... Maybe. Which means the youngest they could be is about a year. But I think they're 2-3.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Really I have had them for about a month and I bought them from a lady who had probably 1000 birds I knew nothing about chickens at the time and still know very little but she said they just started to lay. But it makes sense for you to say they are older because out of 17 hens I get about 2 eggs a day. I have a feeling I was taken advantage of.

About 1 month and when I got them the lady said they were molting for the first time.

I too think she unloaded old hens on you. The just starting to lay AND the molting do not go hand in hand. They shouldn't hit molting after onset of lay until the following fall. They would have been laying for MONTHS not just starting.

To me they look worn out.

 

[Painted Calls]

They look closer to 3/4 years to me.

 

[JJW2018]

You were taken advantage of if you were told they were just starting to lay. Like Sourland said, these girls look like they are past their prime production years.

Yes the lady told me that they were just starting to lay and that they were molting for the first time. She also said that they had been treated for mites and fleas and parasites but when I got them home and looked at them they were infested with fleas and stuff it took me 3 weeks to get it under control 3 of the hens were sick. I know that there are maybe 3 or 4 hens that are laying maybe 5 because on some days I will get 2 eggs and on another I will get 4 or 5.

 

[JJW2018]

Just starting to lay and molting for the first time are different ages, generally speaking. And they're different by at a minimum of six months. I think your girls are probably about 2-3 years old, though the fact that they're molting and it's fall goes a long way towards explaining the lack of eggs.

If they're just starting to lay they wouldn't be molting. If they started laying in the early spring they MIGHT molt this year.... Maybe. Which means the youngest they could be is about a year. But I think they're 2-3.

Thank you! What age do hens stop laying?

 

[ChocolateMouse]

So you have a record of the seller lying (if only in your own brain/observations), they gave conflicting info, and you're seeing a biological function typical of chickens around 18 months minimum age. I'd just take a guess and say 3 years (because that's when a lot of people offload their older hens) and disregard anything the seller said. Sorry you got taken for a ride.

Thank you! What age do hens stop laying?

Hens slow down significantly with each molt but some people have had hens lay til they were 10 years old. I had a 6yr old Ameraucana hen - my oldest ever - giving me about 2 large and slightly malformed eggs a week. It's really chicken/genetic dependent. Because you have production reds chances are good they're gonna burn out faster than other breeds.