When Do Hens Start Laying?/Share Your Laying Experiences

[frankhdgs]

Mine all started right around 5-6 months.

 

[Sirracha]

Mine took what seemed like forever, 6 grueling months. Lol. There are the signs; squatting when petted, digging around in the nesting box, being antisocial and slip away from the flock. Once they start laying, the eggs will be less than average but it'll be the best looking egg you've ever put your hands on! Haha. Also watch for the soft shell eggs that may occur as a result of a beginner egg developing system. Just make sure the girls get enough calcium through smashed egg shells or oysters shells. Mine loved straw hay and no pine shavings for the nesting box. I stapled a cut out piece of an old shirt to give, in front of the box to the girls some privacy and also so they won't roost and poop in it.

 

[TeaChick]

Your smallest looks like one I hatched. She's GLWxWL roo over gold Comet (sex-link).
From the front

From the back

Right after hatching


Her mom is the one in the middle head toward us, but head down. Here is her dad.

ETA: Her mom lays the pink eggs; the one at the top of my avatar is her mother's.

 

[nate1the1great1]

i have over 40 chicks running around my room i have 2 bantam americauna laying and 12 chicks 3 months old tomorrow and then a bunch of little chicks in my room running around and when i lived in pennsylvania my dad convinced my mom to get chickens for eggs sadly i had to sell them bc i had to move but i got more now and when i first got and a egg it was 2 years ago and i went outside to check on them and the hen was making a nest in my goat pen and i watched then the egg came out i ran inside and i said to my mom I GOT AN EGG and she was like put it in the fridge but knoing me i was like NO IM GUNNA MAKE DIPPY EGGS FOR LUNCH and my mom was liuke well we hav no bread so for the first time i had a scrammbled and it was delicious. but now im waiting for these 3 months to get ready to lay. in the future of course but yes it depends on the breed and it normally is between 5 months to 1 year. my parents are mad at me cause i went to tsc and im like if they have slw im getting some and guess what they did and they were pullets so i got 4 of those a speckled sussx straight run but i sexed it and it is a hen and a japanese bantam which also is a hen cause i sexed it and they were like NO MORE CHICKENS and im like what can i do for them and there like u can be grounded for a week and clean the house tonight so im lke WHATEVER and i got them and grounding for me means no playing with my friends and its not a big deal but my parents think im highly obsessed and i am IM VERY OBSSESED WITH BIRDs as of right now i have 25 chicken eggs in my bator and 7 under my one bantam hen 15 duck eggs in my bator and 5 goose eggs. but i have tons of chickens 2 peacocks 2 geese 6 ducks that are pets 5 ducks that i hatched already that are for meat and 2 goats and a sheep so ya i might be a little obssessed cause we moved into this house only 4 months ago and i already haven all of them btw 4 of the ducks are fully grown and 2 are 3 months and btw the 2 goats and 3 ducks moved across country because of me i couldnt sell them so we brought them across the country.

edited by staff

 

[nate1the1great1]

those chicks look like rhode island reds or red sex links

 

[Buffmama]

That's what I was thinking. They look just like the RIRs we got from TSC. Have fun with em no matter what they are!

 

[Mtn Laurel]

I understand it depends on the breed. Last spring I got 5 chicks of mostly different breeds and kept track of when they laid their first egg.

Easter Egger = 19 weeks [I understand this is early for an EE as most don't lay until later. She was the FIRST out of this group to lay!]
Barred Rock #1 = 19 weeks, 5 days
Barred Rock #2 = 22 weeks
Delaware = 22 weeks, 4 days
Buff Rock = 24 weeks, 4 days [she was sold to me as a Buff Orpington but think she's really a Buff Rock due to leg color. Otherwise, she looks like an Orpington. Maybe a mix?]

 

[barbiegirl]

It is worth the wait!

 

[phinux]

Mine all started right around 5-6 months.

What a beautiful color range!

 

[4ForAdventure]

Yeah, like everyone's saying, it's usually about 6 months. We have a Buff Orpington that we thought would never lay and finally started at 8 months. Also, I'd say your chicks look like Golden Comets maybe? We have one of those, great birds! From the way the feathers are growing on your birds, tail feathers and such, I'd say they're all girls, but if they weren't sexed as day olds only time will tell. Good luck and Have fun!