[katie]

They will start to lay in August, won't moult the first year and should lay throughout the winter without artificial light while the older girls are having a rest.
Trust me, I'm a poultry farmer!

Very soggy here, Lisa. The ducks have made a horrible mess of their (large) pen and I am sick of slip-sliding through mud. At least the roads are mainly open again now. Hope you've dried out a bit?

[plumseverywhere]

Been pretty floody round  here hasn't it? think we've got off lucky compared to how it could have been though. Only one of the girls schools shut and that was just for a few hours, not all day 
Its really hard to stay upright and yes, I've fallen in the chicken run a few times now!
Looking forward to some little chicks 

[bigchicken]

I have worked in the commercial industry my partner was a manages for 19 years and  in our experience you statement that they will lay without artificial light through there first winter is very misleading. As you should  know it has nothing to do with the age of the bird it has to do with the length on the daylight.

[Carl f k]

Ours havn't moulted and still laying 6 from 6 today

[katie]

If the birds start laying at the right time  then they will carry on through their first year despite the short daylight. We usually get day olds mid-April to ensure this. They will then moult and shut down the next year by which time we will have a new lot to take over.

[hughesy]

In my experience with Light Sussex and Rhode Island Red pure bred birds if they come into lay before the days get too short, say by around the middle to the end of september, they will lay reasonably well through their first winter. The following year they will moult during september and stop laying, mostly not starting again until the days start to lengthen in the new year.

[plumseverywhere]

we have two shifts in our flock - the spring/summer layers and the autumn winter layers. It wasn't a deliberate choice, just that some birds were bought in POL spring time, others arrived POL autumn time. So I think I understand where you are coming from and it makes sense 

[katie]

That's my experience too, Hughesy.