PICS! Any guesses on when these pullets will start to lay?

[shandiane78]

Thanks Melissa and new2chooks! When I bought the 5 younger birds, I was totally new to chickens and I think I may have been deceived about their age...That or the guy gave a VERY optimistic estimate of when they would start laying.

When I got the older two, I thought, "Oh! So that's what a full grown hen should look like!"

 

[BigBuckSnort]

wow this is funny...

I just bought 4 hens, look about the same age as yous, but like you I do not know the correct age, One is a Barred Rock-who is the head hen- very bossy, A buff Orpington, and a Red Star! Weird huh? My other is a Marans, so somehow we lost our mental conection while buying chickens!

 

[shandiane78]

HA! That is funny! I wasn't too particular about breeds, but I did want at least one barred rock. Other than that, I wanted a variety. Now that I know more, I would LOVE to get a Marans for the dark eggs.

So funny that the one breed I particularly wanted, is the one hen I wouldn't mind seeing go...I think she's starting to settle in some, but for a while I thought she was a psychopath!

 

[BigBuckSnort]

Yea, I named my Barred Rock 'Gertrude' after this really mean Great Aunt I used to have! I am new to chickens and its neat to watch them w/ their 'pecking order'. The one I think is a Roo is on the bottom, as of now. If he is a 'he' I'm sure that will change!

 

[gardenak]

Hi- My BR just laid her first egg yesterday- a few days shy of 21 weeks. She is the boss of the hen house but to me she's quite friendly. I would say your hens will lay in the order of the pictures as embkm said. Hammy dind't really squat until day before yesterday. BA's take a long time to mature.

What kind of a chicken is Mavis?

 

[shandiane78]

Thanks gardenak. Funny, even though my BR is Bossy, she's not the boss! She's 3rd out of 7 in the pecking order.

She is VERY bossy/mean to her inferiors, and often gets herself pecked by her superiors because she doesn't mind her manners.

Mavis is a Black Sex Link aka Black Star. I'm not sure what size is normal for a Black Sex Link, but Mavis seems GIGANTIC to me, and she eats like a horse. I'm thinking if I have to wait until my others are as big as Mavis, it will be a long wait. Mavis just started laying 8 days ago, and has laid every day so far.

 

[shandiane78]

Well, what do you know? Just today Bossy did the squat! I was amazed. The first time she's willingly let me touch her.

I think Georgia may have done it too. Not 100% sure because she always stoops down when I pet her. Both of them also got outside the fence today, which is what Mavis started to do when she was ready to lay (and before she decided the nest box was best).