Chickens start laying eggs when they become adults. Backyard production egg breeds like the red star and the black star can lay as early as 15 weeks, though most lay a little later than that. Heritage breeds, which are the type I raise, can take up to 26 weeks to start laying. I have had some in the past that have taken all of 26 weeks and even a couple more weeks than that. This year I got lucky and one of my gold laced Wyandotte’s started laying this weekend. She is 17 weeks old. It is cause for celebration. Of the original ten I got this spring, I have four left. The buff Orpington is starting to look like she is maturing and could be laying in a couple of weeks. The other two, a silver laced and a gold laced Wyandotte, are still a ways off before I will be looking for eggs. It was nice that it happened while I was home, though I must say RangerSir has certainly stepped in a fill the role of lead chicken wrangler quite well this summer. I missed seeing the stages as they grew, but they likely did not know I was gone.
We call these two the sisters. The one on the left is the one who has started laying eggs already.
