26 weeks, when will she start laying?

[Anigozanthos]

Our big red hen is 26 weeks old now but hasn't laid an egg yet. Her face and comb have been this red for around the last three weeks but I haven't seen any signs of squatting. Any thoughts as to whether she is close to laying?

 

[Jajika]

She may be a late-bloomer? If she seems healthy, she just may take longer. It is possible some chickens don't lay as much as others.

I have a very, very stingy Easter Egger. I get maybe 8 eggs a season, would you believe. She's lucky I'm a softy and keep her anyway, but it's frustrating. I love the color of her eggs and want to show them off, but I get so few.

she's healthy..and happy. Go figure.

 

[smhoekzema]

Have you felt the pelvic bones near the vent? How many finger spaces between? This may give you an indication of how long you have to wait. She's probably just a late bloomer as jajika said I have Australorp who at 28 weeks is showing NO signs of laying anytime soon:/

 

[Anigozanthos]

She is one of our first chickens so we still have a lot to learn. I've just done a thread search and read up a bit on checking the pelvic bones, I might try that tomorrow. She is the first we have raised from hatching, and the friendliest, so she is definitely a loved pet and will stick around regardless. It's frustrating though, we've only got one laying (the Welsummer in the back of the photo) who we got at point of lay after all of the other chicks we hatched turned out to be roosters.

 

[Anigozanthos]

She just laid her first egg at almost 31 weeks! I found it on the floor of the run this morning, hopefully we can get her using the nesting boxes next time.