Questions about my feather kids..

[Peneliva]

So I am new to the chicken world. I remember my grandmother had Dommers and White Leggers...or that's what she called them. I have to say I absolutely adore my girls. Penelope my Easter Egger is the sweetest. Olivia is a bit more standoffish but is coming around, she's a Blue Marans.

So, are these common chicken breeds? What some eggs to expect? I'm reading mixed things on the Internet. Will my Easter Egger lay all different colored eggs or just one unusual color? She was born from a pastel green egg. Will that determine what color she lays? My Marans will her eggs be dark from the beginning or do they get darker in age?

The girls are only 5 months old right now so I'm assuming ill be waiting a while. I'm feeding Tractor Supply Laying formula and some Oyster Shell. Anything else? They have a nice coop at the moment and I am gonna finish their run this weekend, weather permitting. It's been quite rainy here.

When will they be to adult size? How many eggs can I expect in a week? If I collect the eggs daily how long will they last if put if I immediately refrigerated?

All of my family members keep telling me ill never get eggs cause I don't have a rooster. I've read that's not true...but why do most people think that?

Do they look okay? Do they really look 5 months old? They are like mini chickens haha. (dark one is Olivia and the reddish one is Penelope)

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

So, are these common chicken breeds? EEs are very common; Blue Marans are fairly rare.

Will that determine what color she lays? No, her genes will determine what color egg she lays. Since she came from a green egg, we know that her mother was heterozygous for the blue egg gene, making it only 50/50 that she inherited the blue egg gene from the mother. If her father passed along a brown egg gene and her mother passed along a brown egg gene, she'll lay brown eggs. The blue egg gene is dominant.

The girls are only 5 months old right now so I'm assuming ill be waiting a while. I'm feeding Tractor Supply Laying formula and some Oyster Shell. Anything else? This will be fine.

How many eggs can I expect in a week? Depends on the hens. I'd guess 4-5 per hen.

If I collect the eggs daily how long will they last if put if I immediately refrigerated? Like nine months, if you care to push it that long. http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/fresh-eggs.aspx

All of my family members keep telling me ill never get eggs cause I don't have a rooster. I've read that's not true...but why do most people think that? Because they're not thinking. Tell them this: "A female human "lays an egg" each month regardless of whether she's got a man around..." People usually get it then.

Do they look okay? They look just fine.
Do they really look 5 months old? Yep.

Good luck to you! Don't stress; chickens are easy pets. Easier than dogs--about the same amount of work and trouble as an iguana.

 

[Peneliva]

Thank you so much for your answers!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Thank you so much for your answers!

Any time!