What age do barred rocks generally start laying?

[MyPetNugget]

The title says it all. Our 4 barred rocks are about 14 weeks old

 

[Fred's Hens]

It varies GREATLY.

Chickens are individuals. They mature at different rates. If you got birds from one hatchery in Texas, for example, and another person got their birds from a hatchery in Iowa, there is no point of commonality, even though both are sold as Barred Rocks. What one person experiences is NOT informational for the other. Make sense?

Plus, if the Barred Rocks are from a show or breeder line, these kinds of true bred, bred to Standard, heritage type birds mature much, much more slowly and don't have a lot in common with hatchery/feedstore stock. Such true bred Rocks can take a month or two longer to mature. This slow maturing produces the ultra fine, test pattern type barring you don't see on the hatchery type Barred Rock.

6 months (26 weeks) is always a good, solid average when considering how long it take for a pullet to come into lay. Some will beat that average considerably while others may be much, much slower. But the Old 6 Month rule remains a great average for understanding what one might expect.

Hope that helps.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

I have two feed store purchased Barred Rocks. One laid two days shy of 20 weeks. The other laid at exactly 22 weeks. This was at the end of August.

 

[MyPetNugget]

Thank you both for the quick replies. I live in Massachusetts and we may be getting snow tomorrow. We don't plan to put in a heat lamp in the winter (the coop is insulated and vented). I've heard that they won't lay eggs through the winter this way. So will they lay maybe in spring? Because it's mostly in the 40's here. they might be around 20 weeks in the middle of winter so......

 

[hengrenades]

I was wondering about when my girls will start laying. I have 25 barred rocks, they are 12 weeks old right now and I will be so excited for our first farm fresh egg from happy chickens. We just moved them into a chicken tractor my hubby built for them, where they will remain until he finishes the movable coop he wants to build them. We have 25 RIR's as well but they are only a week old right now. Can't wait to see their colors.

 

[AnniM]

Our's laid at 5 months

 

[darina]

I am wondering this too. I have a barred rock that I got in November and her owner said that she had hatched in July or August. She started scratching around in the nesting boxes, but she stopped doing that months ago. She has never squatted, but she is pretty leery of me, so I usually don't have the opportunity to get too close to her. She looks healthy, she is a big girl, her comb is red, but not large.

 

[AnniM]

Our girls began laying at 22 weeks. If her comb is red she should be getting ready. There are other factors that affect egg laying such as feed, coop environment, time of year and amount of daylight. Ours started to lay one a day in May but production slowed down in winter.The eggs are large in a matte shade of café au lait color.
Good luck

 

[darina]

Our girls began laying at 22 weeks. If her comb is red she should be getting ready. There are other factors that affect egg laying such as feed, coop environment, time of year and amount of daylight. Ours started to lay one a day in May but production slowed down in winter.The eggs are large in a matte shade of café au lait color.
Good luck

Thank you for sharing your experience. I think part of what has thrown me of is her heft. Most my other pullets are Easter Eggers, so she looks heavier than all of them. She hit a point in her body and comb size, and she seems to have come to a plateau for a few months.

 

[darina]

Finally, I believe my Barred Rock laid her first egg!