Chanteclers laying early?

[cecrews]

My partridge chanteclers were hatched on 17 June 2009. On 19 November 2009 I went into the cold coop and found my first eggs. They laid two that day and one the next. This puts their laying at exactly 23 weeks!! I ordered standard sized chanteclers from the hatchery, however these hens aren't much larger than a big bantam hen. What gives? I was expecting them to grow to at least 5 lbs live weight and more......

Are they particularly slow growing?

It's funny too because we had a cold spat of -15 on Thursday here in Alaska, and I keep my flock in an unheated coop with straw, food, water, and a light. It was still subzero in there and they've all done fine as expected. I'm going out tomorrow to pick up some more straw bales to insulate the walls.

Does this sound like typical behavior for partridge chanteclers?

I've still got 47 of them out of the original 50. 38 hens and 9 roos. Methinks the 3 chick losses were from congenital defects.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum. Glad to have you here.

I'm not familiar with Chanteclers. You can see the breeds I have in my signature. I' don't believe that hatchery chickens grow quite the same as the chickens bred to standard by breeders. The hatchery chickens are bred to lay hatchable eggs, not strictly conform to standards and not to grow large. You chickens will continue to grow some, but don't be too surprised if they don't quite meet your expectations. If you are into egg laying, size is not all that important. Smaller hens often lay better than larger ones. And there can be quite a bit of difference in size of adult hens or roosters from the same hatchery.

With 38 pullets, you should be getting some standard or average behavior. I've found there is a lot of difference in when individual pullets of the same breed start laying. And individuals do not follow what is "standard" for the breed. I have read on here where several people say that Orpington's typicaly don't start laying until later than other breeds, yet my Orpingtons were first to lay, followed closely by the Delaware. The Australorp and Sussex lagged way behind.

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

I have 3 partridge Chanteclers from Ideal, and they are 27 weeks and not laying yet. Mine are big, same size as my smaller, standard EEs (I have one MONSTER EE), my orpington and my fully mature golden comet... So, no, it doesn't sound like my chantecler experience, but congratulations!

 

[chickenbike]

Chanteclers do mature later than most breeds. Mine usually begin laying at 22-24 weeks, but it's not unusual for them to not lay until 28 weeks. The size of the pullet can be deceptive in relation to egg size. The smallest pullet from my spring '09 hatch lays the biggest eggs.