White sussex how old before they start to lay?

[farmerwoman]

So i've heard that white sussex take longer than the average hen to start laying is this true? I'm still trying to figure out what breed I have and why they wouldn't be laying yet as they are 11 months old. I recently was given 9 hens, which the person wasn't really sure what breed they are and told me they were not laying yet. Now I understand all the stresses of moving birds my cause them to stop laying, but if they where not laying before I moved them, I wonder why? I have owned chickens for years and had a



of breeds but, truly i'm baffled to what breed they might be and why they won't lay? Here are some pictures maybe someone could help me identify what breed these white hens are

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

What type of comb do they have? To me they look more like Columbian Wyandotte, but it depends on the comb type.

Were they never laying? Their combs look like like should be. Both Sussex and Wyandotte are slow to start laying, especially this time of year. Some bad lines can take almost a year to begin.

If they weren't fed properly they would mature more slowly. Do you know what they were fed? What are you feeding now? I would keep them on a non medicated grower or an All Flock ration. Switching to a lower protein layer ration can slow down maturity.

 

[rebrascora]

I'm going to suggest they are Columbian rocks. Can't be light sussex as they have yellow legs and they appear to have small single combs, so not wyandottes. They also appear to be quite plump and I am also wondering if diet may be the problem. I have no experience of Columbian rocks so can't comment on when you would expect them to mature but it may be they reached point of lay just as days were starting to get noticeably shorter and that caused a hiatus.
I wonder if perhaps the person you got them from made a mistake on the age of them.

 

[Lollychicken]

How are they going now??
From the pictures I would say Columbian Leghorn. But they are usually pretty early layers, or they did mistake the age of them like @rebrascora said