Pullets maturing at different rates?

[MomKat]

I have six RIR pullets (16 weeks old) and one seems to be maturing faster than the others. I've always thought that she was a day or two older than the others - wing feathers developed sooner, etc. Now she suddenly (over the last few days!) has a bright red comb and wattles while the others combs are still pink, and their wattles are just developing. Is it possible that she developed faster, or might she be a late developing roo? She's not larger than the others or more aggressive, she's just more developed. And do RIRs lay this early?

 

[gritsar]

Just like humans, chickens are individuals and it's entirely possible for one bird to mature faster or slower than the rest. I have four sisters; none of us "started" at the same age.

I don't own the breed, but Henderson's Chicken Chart lists the RIRs as being moderately early to mature:

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html

 

[12304]

different breeds mature faster than others

 

[hannakat]

Hah! Maybe it's a late roo

I started out with 4 RIR and they pretty much developed along the same timeline. One did start laying earlier than the others, though, by about 3 weeks. Mine started to lay at 22 weeks.