[Vember]

They definitely weren't 18 weeks when you got them  I'd say more like 9- 10 weeks!!

Which would make them about 17 weeks now

A few more weeks to wait for eggs, but they'll be worth it


Sarah

[poultrygeist]

Can we place bets on when the first egg will come ? 

They may even be amberlinks but I don't know what an amberstar is like.

If you get a brown egg, then amberlink.

I'd guess about 20-22 weeks maybe. About another couple of weeks.

Rob

[henrys.hens]

No i think those hens are 18 weeks.
Where abouts did you get them from?

[wadz81]

Hope they're not silver sussex as mine are black with silver collars!

[colliebird]

Hoorar! Thank you. Good to get a sanity check from those that know :-)

So they are Amber Stars then?? That was my best guess after trawling the internet. They were actually sold as 18 wk old Silver Sussex. So I'm not convinced the seller actually had any more idea of what s/he was selling than I did about what I was buying!

None of my young hens started laying at the same time.  I bought some Sussex Stars and Black Rocks several weeks ago.  One hasn't started laying yet, she's waiting for the weather to warm up a bit!!!  The others started laying within a couple of weeks of each other.  The Sussex Stars were 24 weeks old when I got them, the Black Rock about 26 weeks old, and the Bluebell a bit younger.  She has only laid one egg, a few days ago.
I've got a very nice double nesting box, a big wicker basket where they used to like to lay but don't use it anymore, a lower triple nesting box, and a tatty old cardboard box where they all queue up to lay their eggs in.  I'm going to have to rethink that and maybe get a few more tatty old cardboard boxes!!!!
A Black Rock I inherited last summer hadn't laid a single egg until a couple of days ago.  She's the only shy one and probably was a bit stressed at my dogs barking (the others don't give a hoot!)
I think you are going to have to be patient.  She'll lay when she wants to.  Hens can be so fickle!   

Valerie

[Big Jen]

One of my little Dutch Banties lays her egg in the grit bucket which I keep in the porch

BJ

[smiler43]

I'd definitely say Ambers, especially with the brown on the wings.  Sussex should have a collar of feathers

These are my Ambers, well I think they are :blink:  There is a slight browning to some of the feathers, more on the wings.

[bob-the-chick]

Eggs!!!!!!

[treacleminer]

Beautiful - all in one day??

and have you tried one yet?

[bob-the-chick]

We'd stopped checking on on a daily basis :-). So it would have been yesterday that we actually started receiving our eggs. Two were warm and two were cold. Just had a quick look this morning and had a lovely surprise. And for the record, they laid in the nesting boxes that had the golf balls in :-) And for anyone who is interested, they laid quite happily on the bright yellow range balls!. So we have two hens laying!!! Hoorar!

And to your second question, yes. Poached with some salt and pepper. Utterly wonderful!

[Vember]

That's great news Bob

Really pleased for you

But I think I'd have gone for boiled  


Sarah

[cathangirl]

Were they sold as hybrids, Bob?  They could have some leghorn in them somewhere.
The larger and redder the combs, the nearer to laying.  Not long now, I reckon.
By the way, where abouts are you?  Good idea to add to your Profile.
cathangirl

[chickenlady]

congrats them girlies look like they are amberlinks! here are my ambers

[Kate and her Ducks]

Congratulations! Best feeling in the world, isn't it.

[bob-the-chick]

3 today :-). Yippee!

One of the layers being the skinniest, most timid bird out of the lot! She runs away from worms :-) Niiice!

And it would seems that after 2 months I finally do have the breed nailed down. Amberlinks it is then!

As far as being sold as Hybrids, the 'seller' I fear didn't know too much about what he/she was selling. They were sold as 18 week old Silver Sussex. We've certainly established that they weren't Silver sussex and general opinion seems to suggest they were also a lot younger than 18 weeks. So who knows!

The main thing is that t least I'm getting some return on our efforts. And we have a bunch of lovely hens as well, of course. :-)