RIR hens - how old do you think they are?

[chad76]

I know this forum is for Breed/Gender... but it seemed the most appropriate place to ask this.

I was told these 2 RIR hens were a little more than 4 months old (that would be roughly 18wks) when I bought them... and that the Barred Rock was closer to 5 months and might be laying already. But I'm starting to question that since it's been almost 4 weeks and no eggs. I started looking for photos of RIR pullets to compare and noticed that someone else's 18 wk old pullet had a larger comb than these pictured below (and it wasn't a roo).

Can someone with more experience with RIR's give me a better idea of how old these girls may be? If they're younger than I was told, I'll quit threatening to make nuggets out of them!

Thanks,
Chad

 

[Josie]

I could by that they are the age that you were given. My RIR did not start laying until after they hit the 5 month mark, and if my memory is correct, it was closer to six months.

 

[chad76]

The more photos I see, the more I think they are a bit younger than I originally thought. I guess the comb size can vary... but just looking at the combs and overall size/shape, they look like they may be closer to 4 months now which would make them roughly 3 months when I bought them. And if what they told me was accurate, the barred rock would be close to 6 months now.

I could be wrong... but I just think they did the math wrong or didn't really keep track of the dates. Not that it really matters a whole lot... I can be patient! I just saw someone else's 18wk old RIR hen and thought she looked a good bit older than my 2.