Should i expect the eggs soon?

[maraguerro]

March 22nd was the first day we brought the chicks home.
The lady and the market said they were 2 weeks but
when we took them over to the feed store she said like 4 days.
it is May 25th
so we have had them for about 10-11 weeks
they could be about 3 months old

my uncle told me he got his eggs about 3-4 months but the lady at the feed store said she has waited 5-6 months.

When should i be expecting?
and
Is there anything i need to do to help them along the way?

we have a LARGE area for them to spend their days (grass, sage brush and loose dirt) and a coop with nesting beds they do not seem to use and roosting bars they seem to spend the night on.
Is the fact they sleep on the roosting bars at night and lay in the dirt during the day bad?
we are nervous they will lay eggs in the dirt under the sage brush outside instead of the nesting area

 

[donrae]

When a hen starts to lay is highly variable. Breeding plays a lot into it. I've had a red sex link start laying at 16 weeks, but that was unusual in my experience. 18-22 weeks is pretty average for most production based breeds. You don't need to do anything to help them, it's just a physical maturity thing and they'll lay when their bodies are ready.

They may indeed lay their eggs outside, but that's never been a big deal for me, I just find their nests outside and collect eggs from there. They like secluded, hidden type places, and sometimes under a bush just seems safer to their little chicken brain.