what clues are there to know when a chicken is going to start laying eggs

[JIGGLYPUFF]

my chicken has been laying in the bottom of our chicken coop all day long and i wanted to know if that is a sign that she is going to start to lay eggs since she is already 23 plus weeks old

 

[Hedwig]

If you take your index finger and middle finger, hold them toegther. Then place your two fingers where her vent is. You will either feel her pubic bones on either sides of you two fingers or you will be placing your two fingers on her pubic bones. If you feel the bones on the side then the pullet can pass an egg and is ready to lay.

 

[subhanalah]

She needs a nest to lay in!

 

[RockyRose]

Hay guys.

It's Winter over here in Australia at the moment, but is that still an excuse for my POL pullets to not be laying???

I have got 1 white Frizzle, 1 White Leghorn and 1 Yokohama. They are all squatting, have red combs and wattles and get mated by our roosters. Why are they still not laying???

Winter could be an excuse, laying has more to do with length of daylight I believe. Some people who use lights for heat get hens to lay throughout winter but it does wear out the hens. My layers-to-be are not old enough to lay but that doesn't stop the roo from mating, the boys are opportunists

 

[TeaChick]

how many hens do you have? Sounds like you need more nest boxes. Minimum is two nest boxes, more if you have more than 8 hens.

5 laying hens, the pullet who's supposed to start laying this month, and four more should start laying next month. I do have 2 nest boxes; they're in the coop where the hens won't lay anymore.

I'm working on setting up a second laying location on the back porch so that they don't have to wait in line and end up laying somewhere else.

My chickens don't need a nest, they lay whether there's a nest or not. Sometimes they lay in the nest, sometimes it's in the middle of the pen, or just wherever. A nest is more for our convenience than the chicken's. Sometimes a young hen who has never layed, will sit on a nest or the ground off and on because she knows something is about to happen and doesn't really know what to do. They soon learn.

Yeah, I've experienced this too. Then they kind of give up on whatever it is happening and end up laying in the middle of the flower bed or the back porch steps.

I am new to keeping and raising chickens. We have 12 chickens, 11 hens and one rooster. All are the same age, just over five months old now and two of them started laying two weeks ago. The first sign was they went into the nest box and started building a nest with the alfalfa a few days before they began to lay. Everyday, a few hours before they lay they start cackling like they are in labor. We have a camera in the henhouse so I watch it and see them go into their boxes for 15 minutes and then come out to free range again. It seems to happen around noon or 1:00 p.m. and sure enough there are eggs in the nest every time.

Rob

Sounds good. What breed(s) do you have?
I'll have to watch mine for checking out nesting sites; I think she is, we see her coming out of the woods and such alone.

My girls are only 2 months old, but they're combs are red and they lay on the ground quite a bit.
I have just assumed they're doing this because it's starting to get hot here and they're trying to cool off by laying on the ground. When i let them out to "free range" they fly and run like crazy.
I would love for them to start laying, but figured I wouldn't see eggs from them until at least August or September.....
Thoughts??

I agree with @subhanalah , you'll be waiting another couple of months.
So, yeah, Aug/Sept is when they'll likely lay; you might think about getting their nesting situation set up about a month ahead of that.
I'm in the Deep South too; they do lay around, especially in the dirt, to cool off. Mine also walk around with their wings out a little and breath through their mouths. They have plenty of bushes, woods, etc. for shade; and water is really important.

My biggest piece of advice would be to get another bucket! LOL! I over provide for my girls, they each have the opportunity to lay in their own special box. If your girls are being semi-broody and not leaving the container you use, at least long enough for another girl to lay, your pullet could start searching out an alternative place. However, if you leave the daily rent in the bin (and possibly a second bin) she should see that the other girls lay there and find it safe, so she will mimic them.

Okay. Thanks! I'll set up another laying location near the other bucket. Maybe that will help her feel more comfortable mimicking them; she's almost a year younger than they are.

I learned alot reading this post. Thanks for the advise, very informative.

Most of mine are about 4 1/2 months old. I noticed they increased in size about 2 weeks beforehand. Then they started squawking & scratching around in the eggbox a lot more than usual. I got my 1st egg yesterday around 12:20pm after about 40 minutes of squawking, courtesy of my dark-faced Amerucana. Thanks Apples!

Congrats! on your first egg!!! Did you take a picture????
and

If you take your index finger and middle finger, hold them toegther. Then place your two fingers where her vent is. You will either feel her pubic bones on either sides of you two fingers or you will be placing your two fingers on her pubic bones. If you feel the bones on the side then the pullet can pass an egg and is ready to lay.

Brilliant!!! Thanks!!!
This is what I like about this site! I knew that, but I didn't think of it. I just thought of checking the vent, not the pubic bone, forgot about the squatting, etc.

But with so many people on this site who are willing to share their experience with us newbs.

my chicken has been laying in the bottom of our chicken coop all day long and i wanted to know if that is a sign that she is going to start to lay eggs since she is already 23 plus weeks old

How hot is it where you are? She might be lying in the coop to cool off.

Hay guys.

It's Winter over here in Australia at the moment, but is that still an excuse for my POL pullets to not be laying???

I have got 1 white Frizzle, 1 White Leghorn and 1 Yokohama. They are all squatting, have red combs and wattles and get mated by our roosters. Why are they still not laying???

What breed is your frizzle?
Your Leghorn will lay even if it's winter, but yes, POL will be delayed b/c of the lack of light.
IDK anything about Yokohama. Sorry.

I have 23 hens that are 19 weeks old today. About a week ago I had one egg, or egg attempt, about the size of a quarter (mine are mostly large brown egg layers). The next day I lost a hen when she tried to lay two eggs at the same time and ended up with a severe prolapsed vent. Nothing since then. They all free range so I check the area pretty thoroughly and they have 10 nest between them. I have seen them sitting in the nest but no eggs yet. I have fake eggs in each nest as well. I know 20 weeks plus is maturity for most hens but since there was an attempt a week ago have they all given up. Now and then one of them starts making strange clucking sounds and all the others gather around like mid-wives in waiting but still nothing. Temps here are mid sixties to low 90s so there should not be any heat or cold stress.

Losing a flockmate could cause hens that are already laying to stop for a few days. They're flock animals and are connected to each other (in their own ways), so it means something (what, IDK) to them when one of them is gone. POL might be delayed for a while.
BTW, what breed(s) do you have?

thanks, this is helpful. I don't know if my girls will react the same way. It's interesting how many variations there are.

Yup; there are so many breeds and then each chicken has his/her own personality.
BTW,

Tomorrow is the summer solstice. I predict my girls will start laying tomorrow! Longest day of the year...no more excuses!!! (They are 22 & 23 weeks old).

I'll have to give my POL pullet this memo.

 

[Faraday40]

Each hen lays at their own time. Mine took 25-28 weeks to start laying. The first egg came in January during the severe Polar Vortex. All were laying by the end of Feb. Sadly my first few eggs were frozen, cracked, & covered with poo below the roost. A golf ball in each next box helped.

We took all kinds of photos of those first eggs & the hens who made them. The best experiment was a side by side comparison of our first edible egg vs. a store egg. We looked at the shell quality, raw yolk & albumen color, bulls-eye egg spot, & of course taste. Each family member got a small bite of each. We'll never eat bland eggs again.

My spoiled family now requests whose eggs they want to eat. We pencil label each egg with the date laid & name abbreviation of the hen. Our neighbors, friends, & family get a real kick of knowing whose eggs went into their meal.

 

[Grandmas Coop]

I have 4 Australorps that turned 19 weeks Fri. and 9 Buff Orphington that turned 16 weeks Fri. 12hens in all and 1 Rooster. Two weeks ago I set out 4 nesting boxes each with a fake egg. The nests are screwed together with nut & bolt. I may, not sure yet, make the entrances a bit bigger. The Australorps like to roll the eggs on the bottom out, I am not sure why. I haven't witnessed them doing this, so they either peck at them or are just placing them.?????????

 

[subhanalah]

Here's my girl trying to lay an egg. She's practicing and claims the fake egg is hers.

 

[mortie]

Mine lay around in the run when it's hot...is she maybe just chillaxing?

 

[subhanalah]

I think the comb turns a dark red.  That's my clue

squatting is what told me my girls were ready.
Exactly two weeks after she squatted for the first time, she laid me this