[newhen]

Are there any?  Im hoping my chicks will lay soon but begining to worry I wont have any till the summer. 

[woodside farm]

How old are they?

Michelle xx

[newhen]

My gingernut rangers are about 22 or 23 weeks and my miss pepperpot is a few weeks younger.

[woodside farm]

I'm not sure about hybrids but I would imagine they are due to lay soon, my Cochins went into an early moult this year and have just started to lay again.
They might take a bit longer but I would have thought that you should have eggs this year.
I had my first egg on Christmas day. 

Michelle xx

[newhen]

oh, wow, how exciting.  I am so impatient   

but really am just so pleased my hens like their new extention my hubby has built.  They may settle now he has finished banging.  They loved the run, runing round and jumping in the air. Was great to see them so happy.

[chickenlady]

my 2 dorking girls are 25 wks old today! Pinot has a huge red comb so am expecting eggs any day from her but Grigio still has a small pale comb but they are definately the same age as i have reared them since they were about 2 wks old!
It does get exciting when you are waiting for your 1st egg! now i am waiting for my dorkings and araucanas! i rush out to look in the nest boxes when i get in from work! 

Debbie

[newhen]

yes I know.  I have a huge egg basket at the ready and pink egg boxes 
but I think I will have to wait longer than you, their combs are not very big and still pink..
Thanks for the advice.. will be patient...

[Casey76]

"i rush out to look in the nest boxes when i get in from work!"

I'm glad I'm not the only one who does this!

[woodside farm]

You should have got white leghorns, I have 15 adult hens and even though they are moulting, I am getting between 10 -15 large white eggs a day 
And they start laying about 18 weeks old, this is the reason why I can't understand all of these hybrids (for eggs) that are appearing. 

Michelle xx

[themagicaltoad1]

Mine went very red in the face long before they started laying, (they haven't got combs), and I waited and waited.....   Then they started squatting when I reached out to them and it was about 10 days after that they started laying. They were about 24/25 weeks old.

[chickenlady]

You should have got white leghorns, I have 15 adult hens and even though they are moulting, I am getting between 10 -15 large white eggs a day 
And they start laying about 18 weeks old, this is the reason why I can't understand all of these hybrids (for eggs) that are appearing. 

Michelle xx

I wanted leghorns but thought them flighty and that i would be forever fetching them back from neighbours gardens!  my araucanas are a sinilar age to the dorkings so they will lay any day although i foolishly put my new (back in August) white araucana in with my other 2 but she is got very ill and made the other 2 ill so any eggs from them will be a miracle! 

Debbie

[woodside farm]

The trick with leghorns is to clip their wing as soon as you get them, then they don't know they can get over the fence 
when they moult you don't need to do it again.

Michelle xx

[newhen]

You should have got white leghorns, I have 15 adult hens and even though they are moulting, I am getting between 10 -15 large white eggs a day 
And they start laying about 18 weeks old, this is the reason why I can't understand all of these hybrids (for eggs) that are appearing. 

Michelle xx

ohh, I wish I had one of these. I want a white chicken too.  I will look out for one. 
Thanks.

[GrannieAnnie]

I've found with my Babcocks that the earliest to lay were 17 weeks, but the white amberlinks were anything up to 26 weeks although they are hybrids! 

I think the good thing with hybrids which were originally bred for the commercial farms is that they are cheaper to buy than pure breeds and are good for first timers who know little about chickens and are impatient to get their first eggs.

My Araucanas are the same age as Debbie's about 24 weeks and my Exchequer Leghorns are 2 weeks older, but still no eggs from them yet.  My Light Sussex and Rhode Island Reds are about 21 weeks and still waiting!!!!

[newhen]

oh, sorry