Egg laying already???? I see everyone looking.....please help!

[babychickfarmer]

My leghorns are 17 weeks old today and so are my sexlinks. I know that the usual time for leghorns can sometimes le 16 weeks so how do I know when they start laying? Like what should I look for in behavior wise? Last week there was some water in with one od the poos and the poo was like little droplets. Is the water maybe a sign of maybe an egg? I don't think there has bin another poo like that...I will have to check that tommorow when I go back to the farm. any advice would be helpful. PLEASE and ThAnk YOU!!

 

[JudyMcKinn]

I don't think you can tell anything about whether laying has started by looking at the poo. If you see too many strange poos, they may have coccidiosis, or something, but probably not. Just watch for eggs--you will see them, unless you are free ranging the chickens and they might hide them out in the weeds somewhere. They don't all start that early, just keep your eyes open for eggs, and you will know when they start.

 

[DementedHam]

for behavior, my leghorns have always acted uppetty and very active and antsy. they have nice red combs and are eager to find a good nice and safe nest. however, with this breed they don't always lay where you want them to. i have an outdoor fridge and my leghorn thought that was the nicest safest place to lay. on personal experience, they don't like laying where all the others lay. once they find a spot, they tend to stick to it.

 

[hisbride]

I have one leghorn and she will lay on the nesting box about 80% of the time. The rest of the time she just nuts up and starts laying in the run or in the coop.

I have no idea why she does this but I wish she'd stop. Yours will ay soon enough but I understand you don't want to miss it and want to witness the neat process.

 

[Motherhenandflock]

Your sex links should start at about 4 1/2 to 5 months old. You may not be able to see the very first egg, but if you hang out in the hen house for very long you will be able to see it happen. They will kind of stand up and strain a bit and then plop out comes the egg! It will be wet and shiny and soft. It will harden in the air quickly.
Once they start laying you will be in the eggs!

 

[DuckLady]

Congrats! Your hens should lay at any time. Watery poo is probably just a sign that they are drinking more water than normal. My turkens laid their first eggs at 4 months and 1 week!

It will be wet and shiny and soft. It will harden in the air quickly

BTW, eggs are laid hard if they are normal. They do have a mucus coating and it does dry quickly. If you hens are laying soft eggs, they need addtional calcium and the eggs will not harden as they dry.​

 

[Motherhenandflock]

ok, I stand corrected about soft shells.
But terrielacy, sometimes won't the first eggs from a pullet be soft? Not enough calcium before or while the eggs start to develop?
Anyway, it's so eggciting when those eggs start coming!

 

[JudyMcKinn]

If a hen lays a soft egg, because she is in need of calcium, it won't harden as it cools, or anything like that. It is just an egg with a thin, leathery cover, which often tears when it hits the nest, or she accidently sticks a claw in it. Which can sometimes encourage hens to start eating their own eggs, so if you do get an egg with this sort of shell, you need to try to get oyster shell out for them as soon as possible. Good Luck.

 

[Queen of the Lilliputians]

I had heard that sometimes when their 'egg production parts' are gearing up, you may get soft-shelled, or even shell-less eggs. My understanding was that it was completely normal, and not calcium related, unless your hen has been laying for a little while and THEN has the same thing happen. JMHO.

Back on the original topic, I had also heard that the hen's combs and waddles will become quite red, and she will begin to 'squat' when she is close to egg laying. I'm sure your guys will start any time now!

-Meghan

 

[patinoklahoma]

Years ago when I had my first chickens, and they'd reached adulthood, the combs on the hens starting flopping over. I was sure they had some strange disease. My sis got on line, found a chicken forum (maybe this one), and learned that a laying hen's comb flops over. Don't know if this is true with all breeds, but I've seen it with mine over and over.