Topic of the Week - When Do Pullets Begin Laying?

One of the most common questions in the BYC forum is when to expect pullets to be laying eggs. It can be quite hard to be patient as we await the eggs' arrival, especially when we are lost as to when the pullets will even start. So, we're asking for your answers on this topic.

- When did your pullets begin laying? What breed are they?
- How long would it take for your new hens to start laying again?
- What are the signs that they are ready to lay eggs?



For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

Most chickens lay around 4,5,and 6 months.Some lay as early as 3 months.....But some also may wait until their nearly a year old.

Some ways to know, is their combs and wattles will begin growing.They will also have more red faces and combs.Their vents will also begin getting bigger and a more "Reddish" color.

They will also squat.The submissive squat is when they lay flat,and spread their wings out.Hens without a rooster will do that if you approach them.If they are doing this they should be laying in either less then a week or in about a week.

Most of my chickens have started around 4 and 5 months,maybe a little later.But a lot of these are duel purpose chickens and egg laying kind.

I have Silkies who started laying around 21 weeks old. Squatting and when their combs, wattles and earlobes all get larger in what seems overnight that is a good sign they will start laying soon. One of my Black Australorp hens started laying around 22 weeks of age while her sister who is the same age now at 26 weeks still hasn't laid an egg.

Our 3 pullets are about 15 weeks old but not much has changed in the comb and wattles department for a few weeks. We just got the girls roost-trained so no more trying to sleep and pooping in the nest boxes, yay! We know we still have at minimum a few weeks, but I'm excited already

Do the comb and wattles really wait till that same week to "pop"? We have the nest boxes blocked off, wondering when to open them up for business - I had been thinking maybe in another 2 weeks so they don't revert back from their roost-training?

Weekly pics of the girls! (will need to add a 15 week old one tomorrow)
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/our-peeps-from-5-weeks-until-now

mizz9 said:

Our 3 pullets are about 15 weeks old but not much has changed in the comb and wattles department for a few weeks. We just got the girls roost-trained so no more trying to sleep and pooping in the nest boxes, yay! We know we still have at minimum a few weeks, but I'm excited already

Do the comb and wattles really wait till that same week to "pop"? We have the nest boxes blocked off, wondering when to open them up for business - I had been thinking maybe in another 2 weeks so they don't revert back from their roost-training?

Weekly pics of the girls! (will need to add a 15 week old one tomorrow)
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/our-peeps-from-5-weeks-until-now

Click to expand...

they will grow as they get closer to egg maturing time by the time they begin squatting they should have nice red combs.Are you seeing any reddness or growth yet?

I have three 17 week old hens, 2 australorps and an orpington, who have not started laying yet. Last year my salmon favorolle, americaunas, and barred rock seemed like they took FOREVER to start laying however they were adults in the dead of winter. I think they started around 20-21 weeks. Of course, we are in the heat of summer so again, it seems like it is taking a long time. My australorps and orpington are just started to get a little bit rosier in the face, very tiny wattles are developing, they are very close.

TheTwoRoos said:

they will grow as they get closer to egg maturing time by the time they begin squatting they should have nice red combs.Are you seeing any reddness or growth yet?

Click to expand...

They are all pink/reddish in the face. Our barred rock is the most developed:

15 weeks is about 3 and a half months I would give them some more time...

As a first time chicken keeper, I was sooo impatiently waiting for my first eggs. I have 12 in all. 6 American buff orpintons, 3 silver laced wyandottes, and 3 barred rocks. All hatchery birds. My first layers were buffs, starting at 20 weeks. 3 of them are laying so far, but none of the others yet.

Around 13-14 weeks, I saw reddening in the face of a few, which spread to the combs and wattles. Their combs began to grow enormous and quickly. At about 16 weeks, I noticed some nesting behaviors. Between then and the first egg, there were submission squats, and egg song practice.

My first layer came about a week and a half before the second, and nearly another week before the third began. I'm still egg-cited everytime I get an egg, and we've gotten just over a dozen so far.

On a side note, my first layer named Honey is still laying about a medium sized egg and she reliably camps out in the nest box off and on sometimes for a few hours before she passes it. Her sister Melina lays a large to extra large egg, and does it within an hour, however the larger eggs caused a small prolapse of her vent which I caught because of blood streaks on her eggs. Hers wasn't serious, though. Indeed, she laid a jumbo yesterday. You might keep a tube of original preparation H on hand just in case.

Enjoy your first eggs, and treat your girls for laying them!