when do jersey giants start laying?

[Sandrachx]

my TSC had tetra tint and jersey giants chicks that were past the "cute" stage and gave me a call, offering me them for $.50 each. even though last year i purchased pullets and decided that was the way to go for me in the future, the deal was too good to pass up. until i read that jersey giants take forever to grow. i now have 36 chicks in my garage waiting for the new coop to be completed and i'm wondering if anyone knows how old they should be when they start laying?

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

I do not have jersey, but my slow maturing Orps did not lay until they were 12+ months old.


I prefer a later layer than a quick/young layer. A later layer has time to mature both in bone and organ. Later layers tend to have fewer egg-laying related problems than the early/young layers.

 

[Spinster_Sister]

My Jersey Giant, Parsley, started laying eggs at 5.5 months old. They do grow slowly but magnifiently!! My girl is a wonder and I am very very happy with her. I plan to raise exclusively Jersey Giants when my other girls go back to heaven.

 

[CMV]

My JGs started laying quite young. It's been a few years, but I think they were about 22-24 weeks old when they started. I was surprised because I thought they would take much longer to start. If you are interested in growing them out for meat then you are going to lose your shirt. They take forever to fill out those massive skeletons.

You will be thrilled with the JGs. Not much to look at, but they are spectacularly grand. My favorites of my flock. So sweet-natured and friendly. I would have a whole flock of just these birds if I had the space.

Good luck.

 

[ThinkingChickens]

Ooh, I have a JG too. Her name is Ethel. She's currently two months. I had heard she could be anywhere from six months to ten months before she started laying. I'm happy to wait for her as I think she's going to be beautiful.