does anyone know when my girls will start laying??????

[Sienatiger]

my chickens are 4 1/2 months old. Someone said I might have to wait 4 more months. Is this true? if not, when? Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

What breed(s) do you have? Do you have current photos of the birds that you can post? Are you seeing signs that they are reaching maturity (the reddening of the face, changes in wattle/comb, performing a submissive/egg squat, etc.)?

 

[Sienatiger]

I have a rir, wynadotte, and light brahma Here r some pics.

 

[Sienatiger]

What does everyone think? When will they start laying?

 

[Blooie]

What does everyone think? When will they start laying?

The best answer - and unfortunately a kinda smart alec one - is when you stop watching for it to happen! Not what you wanted to hear, I know. Not what I wanted to hear either when I was told the same thing. Those onery little girls will wait until you decide, "Well, I'm tired of checking every 15 minutes so since there was nothing this morning I'll wait until tomorrow." Yup, and when tomorrow comes you'll go out to the coop and find a few eggs with no way to know who laid what!!

Been there! Red combs and wattles. Squatting. Suddenly affectionate when they had been a little shy before. Practicing getting on and off the nests. And then several choruses of "The Egg Song" - for days on end! I just knew that any minute eggs were gonna come flying out of them like a bad old cartoon. I didn't even want to run to the store in case they did something while I was gone. But, um, nope. Nothing. They waited - and hid. I waited - and found them. They avoided, I watched. If I hadn't been so disappointed by the time I went to bed every night it would have been funny.

Then one morning I went out out clean the poop board and there it was - my first egg in a nest box. Ah, the angels sang and rainbows appeared in the sky!! I had my first egg. But, who laid it? I had 19 hens to chose from. Process of elimination led me to think it was Dora. She was the most persistent in trying out every nest box for a couple of days before that magic egg appeared. The other girls seemed interested in the goings-on, but it was Dora who was strutting around the run like she owned the place. So I laid in wait early the next morning. Shock of shocks, Ida went into the nest, snoozed for a bit, fluffed some bedding onto her shoulders, stood up and laid an exact replica of the one from the day before. Ida came out of the nest quietly, Dora sang the egg song, then, once again, strutted around the run like she'd done something spectacular while sweet little Ida just went about her day as if nothing monumental had happened. Of course after that Ida decided that she had a career in opera, and to this day she loudly and proudly proclaims each and every egg!

Those silly chickens! Just relax...it will happen. As far as I know the only chicken who never eventually laid at least one egg was named Herman or Floyd or something. I can't give you a specific time to expect your first egg. I don't think anyone can, including your chickens. Looks like your RIR is close, but "close" to a chicken is different than "close" to us. I don't see it being another 4 months, though.

 

[andreanar]

Haha @Blooie! I love your description of your experience. Im on the first egg watch too right now.

 

[aliciasimon]

When we bought our first baby chicks from the feed store, they told us "4 to 6 months". We had our first egg around 23 weeks. Egg-squatting is a good sign.
Hang in there, it's an exciting time!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Great pics of some nice looking birds - they look to be getting there. I know you said they are 4 1/2 months, with birds and the age of lay it can be good to work in weeks - so are they about 18 weeks old? I

 

[Sienatiger]

hi guys! the girls STILL haven't layed they haven't started squatting either. right now they are about 20 weeks. How much longer? I am dying to know. do you think having 8 week old chicks in with them has to do with it? I talked to a friend who has had chickens for EVER and she said they should be laying, or at least squatting by now. Thanks for all your help!

 

[cafarmgirl]

20 weeks old is barely on the verge of laying age for many hens, many start well after that. It doesn't help that now the days are getting shorter as well.