Five months old is about right. Get your omelet pan ready!

--Jonathan

Alot of a chickens ability to lay depends on her environment. Five months would be outstanding, but don't panick if it's six or even seven. With the days getting shorter now, your hens will probably take a little longer to start laying as sunlight plays a big role in reproduction.

Mine started around 6 months and the first egg you get will be a HUGE excitement! I kept the shell of my first egg...some people blow them out and paint them..too much work for me :)
enjoy

Thanks everyone. Hopefully we will have an egg soon! I am getting really excited. I am enjoying these chickens much more than I ever expected.

My 5 Rhode Island Reds will be 6 months old on Saturday and I hope they start laying soon. With all my older hens molting, we've had to buy eggs lately. It just isn't the same as "gathering" your own. Let us know when you get the first one!

One of the Wyandottes laid her first egg on Wednesday and has laid two more since then! It is very, very exciting! I was out of town and my husband called me right away with the news! One other one has laid one egg too, so hopefully they will all start laying soon. The only bad thing, is we have 13 pullets and we had planned to have about 6 or 7 butchered. Now if they all start laying, I will feel terribly guilty about butchering them!