I was wondering at what age Americanas started laying. Are they a bit later than other chickens?
Hi Kate, mine layed at 20 to 24 weeks like other chickens. If your waiting for pullets to start laying for the first time now, the shortening of the daylight hours may have something to do with them being slow. Don't give up though. Mine layed all winter last year, and I have a pullet hatched March 13th this year giving me an egg almost every day. Good luck and don't worry, they'll lay for ya!!
They don't lay any slower than other breeds but, just as HannahH wrote, the shortened day hours will slow egg production (perhaps even completely stopping it). Some people use artificial lighting during the winter to induce their hens to continue laying, but I don't know if that is economical for you...
We have a small commercial egg business and we have Ameraucanas (please note the correct spelling and there is a breed club you can search for on the web but you have to spell it correctly). Our experience is that they come into lay later than a number of other breeds. Our Leghorns come into lay a full month before our Ameraucanas.
Your right Anonymous, they do start a little later than other breeds, so maybe 24 to 28 weeks (or even a little longer!) instead of 20 to 24. When I thought about it, my Lucy was a bit slow on the trigger but I attributed it to the waning daylight hours. She is giving me an egg almost every day now.
By HannahH on Sunday, November 11, 2001 - 05:58 pm:
By Josh on Tuesday, November 13, 2001 - 12:46 am:
By Anonymous on Tuesday, November 13, 2001 - 07:17 pm:
By HannahH on Tuesday, November 13, 2001 - 08:15 pm: