We are brand new city chicken farmers!!! We bought 4 pullets on April 27, assuming that they were less than a week old. When should we expect eggs? Do we need 4 individual laying boxes or will they all lay in the same one. Also, just got 4-5 week old New England Bantams in hopes to get a rooster....any sign on the chicks which one is a male? We have noticed that one of the four already have the thingy growing on top of its head, is that a sign of a rooster? Thanks, we have a lot to learn about these.
Well, first of all, This place is awesome, and you'll learn so much here!!!! Chickens begin laying right about 22 weeks. My leghorns just started laying at 20 weeks, but my other breeds are right at 22 and haven't begun laying yet. They'll get there, 5-6.5 months is about right for most breeds. There's a variety of tells to see how close your chickens are to laying, but we'll get into that in a little bit. Just to let you know, there are THOUSANDS of threads on this site addressing a multitude of issues, so the quickest way to learn is to search the forum. Start reading! LOL!!! I was new just a few months ago, and because of the people here and the forum archive I can honestly say I know a little bit about chickens now. If you can't find the answer feel free to ask, remember: NO QUESTION IS A STUPID QUESTION! We're all learning here ourselves (except for the select few, you'll be able to pinpoint them soon *ahem* Miss Prissy & dlhunicorn*ahem*) and we all help each other. Good luck, and happy chicken raising!
Okay, so as far as knowing when your chickens are close to laying. Your chickens are about 13 weeks old now, so you've got a little ways to go still. You should be looking for eggs around the end of Sept. Remember that a chicken's laying cycle depends on the hours of sunlight in the day, and that they need about 14-16 hours of light to produce eggs. A lot of people rig up a light (a 60 watt is more than enough) that turns on in the morning, since it's easier for the chickens to wake up suddenly than to go to bed. I learned that the hard way when I cut the light out for them after it got dark out and they all bumped and flopped around trying to get up on their roosts in the pitch dark! LOL!!!! When your girls are getting ready to lay they get pretty loud. They'll squawk and screech like old hens (sorry, couldn't help it). Also, if you feel their back ends right below their vents you'll notice that their pelvic bones are very close together. When a hen is ready to start laying those bones will spread apart. I would start checking around 18 weeks, cause depending on the hen and the breed they may begin laying that soon. Hope this helps!!! BTW: I forgot to mention that it is ILLEGAL to post about specific animals on this site without additing PICTURES to your posts. No pictures is the absolute worst travesty that can be committed on this site....(not really, there are a few others....death threats, etc...LOL!!!) Seriously, though, pictures are a must!!!
