Egg Bound?

[lj]

This may seem a foolish question but we're brand new to chickens. We have three 5 month old ladies. One is in the nesting box seemingly trying to lay an egg. Her beak is open like she's panting and she is restless. Is this typical of laying an egg or is this an indication that she may be in trouble?

One more question, we are feeding Purina Layena crumbles. Do we need to also have a container of oyster shell or is there enough calcium in the feed?

Thanks!
LJ

 

[WriterofWords]

If she's only 5 months old I doubt she's bound, but she might be getting ready to start laying. Is it hot in your part of AZ? Perhaps she is trying to cool off by panting? I'd watch her awhile, make sure she has plenty of water and see if she gets out of her nest.

 

[lj]

It's not hot up here right now. We're in north central AZ. I don't see how she could be hot from the weather. We just picked up our girls on Sunday so we don't know if any of them had started laying yet. How long should I watch her for before thinking she may be in trouble?
Thanks! LJ

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

It takes my hen 30 min to lay once they get in the box. How long has she been in there?

 

[lj]

Yiiipppeeee! Success! Our first egg. She was just working on laying it. I've never witnessed that before so had no idea what the effort was that was involved.
LJ