First Egg Likely? Even in November?

[Winderdear]

Hello all! My four girls are 22 weeks today received as day old chicks on 6/13. My Cuckoo Marans, Juillet, has become much more vocal this past week and is squatting when we go to pet her. She always crouched and tried to slink away, but now she sometimes just stands still and gets really flat all of a sudden when I get close. I assume this means eggs are imminent, but how soon? Because of how late it is in the year, I assumed I wouldn’t get eggs until the days lengthened. Is it possible for her to have this behavior and still not lay an egg until next year, or does this behavior mean she will lay for me sooner rather than later? We aren’t using supplemental light, if that’s relevant. I’m honestly a little terrified for them to start laying in case they have some issue, but I’m the worrying type.

Here are some pictures of my flock from a couple days ago. Feel free to guess when they’ll lay their first egg! I’ll be sure to update when they do!

Juillet (Cuckoo Marans):

Août (Blue Cuckoo Marans):


Mei (Welsummer):


Juin (Dominique):


P.S. Aren’t they just lovely to look at?

 

[aart]

I think they’re about 1’ square, maybe smaller. I’m considering removing some of the dividers between the boxes and making a couple of them double the width. Bad idea?

Pics and dimensions would be good.
12" cube is a standard, smaller can work, a bit bigger is better IMO.
Turning around before laying, especially new layers, is standard but 'bending' the tail a bit isn't a deal breaker.
Mine are 14 x 14 x 16 tall.
Did you know that they will almost stand upright as the egg actually emerges?

 

[aart]

I assume this means eggs are imminent, but how soon? Because of how late it is in the year, I assumed I wouldn’t get eggs until the days lengthened.

They may wait until longer days....or not.
After squatting and/or pelvic bone spread, it can be days to weeks.

Do they free range always?
Any messing of the coop nests(assuming they have them)?
The nest messing is the ultimate signal that eggs are imminent.

 

[Debbie292d]

Gorgeous chickens!!

It really is a crap shoot when our fluffy butts will lay eggs. This time of year, we have some that shut down, and others that will be laying all winter. Who knows why? We do not alter their timing by use of lights. I make sure they get probiotics and calcium, and keep the coop from freezing. We ferment their scratch grains. They're on Kalmbach layer crumbles mixed with their all flock. I don't think there's a magic wand here or anything you could be doing wrong as when they're ready, they'll lay.

 

[Winderdear]

They are all absolutely GORGEOUS girls! Aout is particularly stunning, wow!

My 8 pullets (7 different breeds) didn't start laying till September (spring babies) and the first strong cues were red combs and then squatting (especially by the shy, flighty girls, who were suddenly fine with being petted and picked up: "Please be my rooster!" Raging hormones, my husband laughed.)

The pubic bone spread was very tell-tale! But as Aart noted, once I started finding them messing around and hanging out in the previously-ignored nest boxes, eggs soon followed. [They're just starting to slow down a bit as we lose daylight, 4-5 eggs a day vs. 7 or 8.]

Hope to hear that your girls start laying soon!

Thank you so much! Août is a joy! She’s a good girl who has a cautious, older sister sort of personality, doesn’t demand attention, but still likes a cuddle from time to time. She’s always been the beauty queen of the flock, though my husband (who also thinks she’s the prettiest) somehow also thinks she looks like a conquistador, lol. I personally think she has chain mail rather than a breastplate, but I can see it

Here’s a quick Août slideshow:






I will definitely update with egg photos when they do lay. Thank you very much for sharing your experience and kind wishes!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Most of your girls have decently red, plump combs and wattles so I wouldn't be surprised if you get eggs on the sooner side rather than later.

 

[Winderdear]

Juillet’s first egg (and our first egg) has been laid! Yay!

She laid it sometime around 9am, a beautiful medium sized brown egg, one week after she started squatting. It was so lovely I blew it out so that I could admire it forever!



Here it is in comparison with a store bought large egg:




It tasted remarkably like the store bought egg, lol. My husband did a blind taste test and couldn’t distinguish any difference. Still, I am glad that it tastes normal, and it clearly is healthier since I know Juillet is eating all organic feed along with lots of greens and bugs.

As to behavior, she stayed loud right up until the egg was laid. I missed her egg song unfortunately, but there will be many other opportunities I hope. I knew she was close to laying yesterday, because she started eating the eggshells I had put out for them weeks ago (along with oyster shells), whereas previously I couldn’t get her to take any interest. She also had been excited to inspect the nest boxes yesterday and this morning. Just FYI, she chose one of the large nest boxes, the one closest to the human door.

What a wonderful chicken she is, I love her dearly!

 

[Winderdear]

Gorgeous chickens!!

It really is a crap shoot when our fluffy butts will lay eggs. This time of year, we have some that shut down, and others that will be laying all winter. Who knows why? We do not alter their timing by use of lights. I make sure they get probiotics and calcium, and keep the coop from freezing. We ferment their scratch grains. They're on Kalmbach layer crumbles mixed with their all flock. I don't think there's a magic wand here or anything you could be doing wrong as when they're ready, they'll lay.

Thank you! I wonder if Juillet will just behave like this from now on and not lay for a couple of months. How soon after squatting and reddening up (on average) do your chickens typically lay?

 

[Winderdear]

Pics and dimensions would be good.
12" cube is a standard, smaller can work, a bit bigger is better IMO.
Turning around before laying, especially new layers, is standard but 'bending' the tail a bit isn't a deal breaker.
Mine are 14 x 14 x 16 tall.
Did you know that they will almost stand upright as the egg actually emerges?

I had no idea! Juillet is quite tall, so that may be an issue. I will measure the boxes tomorrow hopefully, maybe get a picture of it from the inside, and let you know.

It’s Mennonite built, the type with a row of nesting boxes at floor level with a lid. It’s very cute but perhaps less practical than I had hoped. My husband might be able to raise the height of the lid and make them taller if needed. The floor starts at the base of the door, so it’s actually not as roomy as it looks. This picture was taken before the run was built:



We’re dealing with our sick elderly cat at the moment, so please excuse me if I don’t get back to you tomorrow with the measurements as planned. I really appreciate all of you advice! Thank you so much!

*Editted to add that we put a secure latch on the nesting box lid with a carabiner to keep it locked before our chickens were moved in. It’s very secure now!

 

[aart]

I had no idea! Juillet is quite tall, so that may be an issue. I will measure the boxes tomorrow hopefully, maybe get a picture of it from the inside, and let you know.

It’s Mennonite built, the type with a row of nesting boxes at floor level with a lid. It’s very cute but perhaps less practical than I had hoped. My husband might be able to raise the height of the lid and make them taller if needed. The floor starts at the base of the door, so it’s actually not as roomy as it looks. This picture was taken before the run was built:

View attachment 3683299

We’re dealing with our sick elderly cat at the moment, so please excuse me if I don’t get back to you tomorrow with the measurements as planned. I really appreciate all of you advice! Thank you so much!

*Editted to add that we put a secure latch on the nesting box lid with a carabiner to keep it locked before our chickens were moved in. It’s very secure now!

I'd bet the height is fine, looking fowrard to seeing dimensions.