well, i just learned that my SCM is an early moulter. she had stopped laying all together when she was only 6 and a 1/2 or 7 months old. she WAS the 1st to lay out of all 4 girls....but after reading the info, she's probably gonna be a poor layer. she wasn't that great of a layer anyway, but i figured it was cuz she was young and would get the hang of it eventually. i remember one day, she laid 2 eggs in one sitting, and you could tell a spot on both eggs where they were stuck together inside of the hen. they were 2 separate eggs when laid, but each egg had a spot, looking kinda like a target...where they had touched each other before being laid. i didn't even realize she was moulting since she looses so few feathers. but on closer observation, i could see that her feathers WERE scattered around....just very scant. she hasn't laid for probably 6 weeks now. my other 3 girls are still laying, but have slowed down a tad due to the weather. i love how you can learn so much here!