Hi guys, got 4 lovely chickens yesterday, a blackrock, sussex, blacktail and speckeldy. They are great. Have a coop and a 2m x 1m run. Have let them have the run of the garden today and they have thoroughly enjoyed it! Was just wondering if anybody had any help/advice/tips etc and when you may think I can start expecting eggs? Thanks in advance
New and needs advice!
- Thread starter ajmellu7
- Start date
Bertie & The Chooks
New member
Hi ajmellu7! welcome to the forum! where are you located so i can be more familiar with what sort of season you are in? also how old are your chooks?
Bertie & The Chooks
New member
ajmellu7 said:
Ok well depending on the age of your chooks you may not see any eggs for a few months. As it's the colder months. Also be careful about letting the chooks on the grass/garden at this time of the year as the wet cold weather means the ground is very damp and the chooks will tear it up! congrats on the new chooks and hope you enjoy them!
17VALBURNHAM
New member
if they are pure breed hens in my experience it will probably not be until early next year you will see eggs. The shorter days stop these hens laying. My ex batts laid all year around so maybe if yours are hybrids it may be different. It will be worth the wait though
Hi ajmellu7, and welcome to the Forum. How lovely to have new hens, i hope you enjoy them.
If they're 18 weeks, you wouldn't expect them to lay yet even if the days were longer - daylight is a big factor in getting chickens to lay. In Spring and Summer most pullets come into lay anywhere between 20 and 28 weeks, but as Chris says, yours may not make it until the days lengthen after the winter solstice. but they will be growing on steadily, settling in to their new home, and without the burden of laying eggs and looking after themselves in the cold weather at the same time.
I wonder what you're feeding them on? they will be OK on layers pellets, but as they're not expected to lay just yet, growers pellets would be the best for them for the next month or so. Best not to feed them lots of treats, however tempting - get them to finish up the nourishing stuff they need to grow. Also, it's good you can let them out into the garden as 2 sq. metres of run space is very small for 4 full-sized hens. Maybe in time you can make them an extension of some sort?
Black rocks, Speckledys and Columbian Blacktails are definitely hybrids. The Sussex could be purebred but is probably a Sussex X Rhode Island Red or similar, so also a hybrid if so. She would probably have been more expensive than the others if purebred.
There's a good thread at the top of this section about looking after chickens in winter, which you might find helpful. Good luck - do post some pics if you can, we'd all like to see them.
If they're 18 weeks, you wouldn't expect them to lay yet even if the days were longer - daylight is a big factor in getting chickens to lay. In Spring and Summer most pullets come into lay anywhere between 20 and 28 weeks, but as Chris says, yours may not make it until the days lengthen after the winter solstice. but they will be growing on steadily, settling in to their new home, and without the burden of laying eggs and looking after themselves in the cold weather at the same time.
I wonder what you're feeding them on? they will be OK on layers pellets, but as they're not expected to lay just yet, growers pellets would be the best for them for the next month or so. Best not to feed them lots of treats, however tempting - get them to finish up the nourishing stuff they need to grow. Also, it's good you can let them out into the garden as 2 sq. metres of run space is very small for 4 full-sized hens. Maybe in time you can make them an extension of some sort?
Black rocks, Speckledys and Columbian Blacktails are definitely hybrids. The Sussex could be purebred but is probably a Sussex X Rhode Island Red or similar, so also a hybrid if so. She would probably have been more expensive than the others if purebred.
There's a good thread at the top of this section about looking after chickens in winter, which you might find helpful. Good luck - do post some pics if you can, we'd all like to see them.
chrismahon
Well-known member
Agree with Marigold entirely. Probably all hybrids which would normally start laying at 21 weeks or just after, but the short days may prevent that so nothing until new year. Run is TINY. Even free-ranging half the time it should be twice that size. You may get problems with boredom and cramped conditions -feather pecking and stress illness. I would make enlarging the run a priority, especially as they are still growing. Keep on rearer/ grower pellets until one lays its first egg, then switch to layers pellets.
Your hens are hybrids, including the Sussex type which has been developed as a Light Sussex lookalike. They are not the most precocious of the hybrids and do not normally lay as soon as the 'Warren' types.
This time of year its hard to anticipate when they will lay but in summer and early autumn you could expect them to lay from around 22 weeks but they do vary. Of yours, I would expect the Blacktail to be the first to lay. At this stage it pays to be patient, enjoy them, learn about them and get them used to their surroundings, get into a routine that suits you and them. Don't over feed them on rubbish and don't try lots of additives to try to 'force' them into lay. Put shavings in the nest boxes to encourage them to explore so they will hopefully lay there when they start.
I agree with Chris about the size of your pen; is there any way you could extend it ?
By now they should be on layers feed.
This time of year its hard to anticipate when they will lay but in summer and early autumn you could expect them to lay from around 22 weeks but they do vary. Of yours, I would expect the Blacktail to be the first to lay. At this stage it pays to be patient, enjoy them, learn about them and get them used to their surroundings, get into a routine that suits you and them. Don't over feed them on rubbish and don't try lots of additives to try to 'force' them into lay. Put shavings in the nest boxes to encourage them to explore so they will hopefully lay there when they start.
I agree with Chris about the size of your pen; is there any way you could extend it ?
By now they should be on layers feed.
Thanks for all the help guys, I have ordered some wire and posts in order to extend the run size. We only moved into our house quite recently and the garden is around 40m x 7 metres and have just finished splitting it into 3 separate areas, with the area at the back being where the chickens are currently. I have earmarked an area around the coop currently which is part concrete (used to have a very large shed on there, that is where the coop is) part soil and part grass, should be around 4 x 5 metres in total. Am going to put some chipped bark down on concrete as well and a dust bath somewhere. Would this be better? Hopefully I will do that within the next week, just waiting for the materials to arrive and may get chance when I get in from work to sort it! Is there anything else I can be/ should be doing?
