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How Long Until Chickens Start Laying Eggs?
Our girls are finally laying, here’s how long it took!
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Let me just tell you, it was definitely the chicken. By a long shot.
We got our chicks on May 23 when they were just a few days old. We managed to keep most of them alive, and when they got to be about 18 weeks old I switched them to a layer feed in anticipation of the lovely eggs they’d be sure to pop out at any moment.
I got them set up with a beautiful nesting box made of an empty cat litter bin, tossed in a thick layer of bedding, and got everything ready. Any minute now, girls!
Week 18 passed with no sign of an egg. Alright, well, next week then. Right?
Week 19 had me beginning to wonder — are these girls all roosters? How would I even know? My Google search history began to include things like “How to tell if you have a rooster” and “How long until (Australorps, Orpingtons, Barred Rocks) lay eggs?” And for good measure, I studied pictures of roosters so I could compare my girls. You know, just in case.
By week 20 I realized that I was putting a bit too much pressure on my girls to start laying so soon and resigned myself to waiting, possibly until spring. The days grew shorter, the leaves fell from the trees, and fall…
