1st egg-then nothing..normal??

[jenerin78]

Good morning! We were excited to see our first egg on Monday this week, I think from a Barred Rock at about 18 weeks old. Then NOTHING for days, including today (5 days later). Is this normal? We have 6 boxes and now 3 of them look like they are prepped for nests. Our ladies do free range in the afternoon/evenings when we are home. Is the irregular laying normal?

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Good morning! Welcome to BYC! It is perfectly normal for newly laying pullets! They will start laying on a regular schedule...
Since you free range, have you found any “lost” eggs in your yard??? You may want to lock them in their coop and run for awhile until they learn where they need to lay. Putting fake eggs or golf balls in the nesting boxes will
help!

 

[SueT]

Welcome to BYC, yes normal! Good luck, let us know when you get the next egg! When they first start laying, it's good to keep them in coop until you are sure they are accustomed to using the nest boxes. I don't let mine out until I'm sure they are all done laying for the day.

 

[TheHoverMother]

Same thing happened to me, one egg and then nothing for two weeks. At the time, the coop was going through MAJOR renovations and the temperatures were in the 90s everyday. No one was happy, including me!
So, I made the chickens as comfortable as possible during the reno, added two box fans to the coop, read every article on this site about summer treats and waited......
I’m happy to report my approach worked and I have eggs everyday.
Obviously, all chickens are different, this is just my newbie experience and how I used the information I gleaned from this site to work through my egg quandary.
Good luck! I bet you'll have uddles of eggs soon!

 

[LittleMissCountry]

My first layer had a week between the first and second egg. She also had several soft shell and one no shelled egg. My others had several days between first, second, and third eggs.

 

[jenerin78]

Thanks everyone! Super helpful! We got another egg from the same hen yesterday afternoon. (Sunday PM) The ladies were out ranging and she went into the coop and laid, and then stood in the doorway announcing her accomplishment. It was amazing. Then this morning we had another egg from a different hen! She did not lay in the boxes though, so I'm thinking a fake egg in there might be a good idea. Thanks again for the reassurances!

 

[MrSpace]

Found our first (albeit very small) eggs in our Barred Rock coop this weekend in one nesting box. Same age as yours: 18-19 weeks. We were told not to expect anything until they were 6 months old. Sounds like we have a similar setup. They free range when we're home as well.

 

[jenerin78]

Thanks everyone! Super helpful! We got another egg from the same hen yesterday afternoon. (Sunday PM) The ladies were out ranging and she went into the coop and laid, and then stood in the doorway announcing her accomplishment. It was amazing. Then this morning we had another egg from a different hen! She did not lay in the boxes though, so I'm thinking a fake egg in there might be a good idea.

Found our first (albeit very small) eggs in our Barred Rock coop this weekend in one nesting box. Same age as yours: 18-19 weeks. We were told not to expect anything until they were 6 months old. Sounds like we have a similar setup. They free range when we're home as well.View attachment 1510604

Congrats! Let me know when you get your next eggs!

 

[Flockandfowl46]

Welcome to BYC hope you enjoy your time here! Yes that is normal you shoul be getting them regular by spring or sooner

 

[jolenesdad]

I feel like I got a first egg from a buff Orpington and still nothing 4 or so weeks later. It was smaller and completely different color than any layers I have and new layers this year are all dark eggs and she is the only light brown layer.

I also just then the next day moved the coop location to a completely different area of the property and had several chickens stop laying from the TX heat and then most of the olders started to molt so I think she is trying to follow the crowd, when she should be following the leghorn that lays right through a molt. ;-)

She seems completely healthy so I’m not concerned. Just got a different first egg today so I’m hoping since she seems like such a follower she will join in soon.