How do I get ready for 18 weeks girls ready to lay eggs?

[3KillerBs]

Should I expect to see them laying right at 18 weeks? Thank you! Good info! I have shavings but need straw

Honestly, we humans are usually fussier about the precise makeup of the nesting material than the chickens are.

18 weeks is about the earliest that you might see eggs from production-type layer strains. 20-24 is common, but some slower-maturing breeds might not lay until they're over 6 months old.

 

[Browniethechicken]

Why do you want them closed? Open those nests now. If you are going to have issues with them open I'd want to know it before they start laying so I can fix the problem before they start to lay. I also don't want to train them to lay somewhere else because they can't get to those nests when they start.

Post photos pf your nests so we can critique them.

Add a fake egg to each nest. That can encourage them to lay there.

I'd offer oyster shell on the side. If they need it they should eat it. If they don't need the calcium they should not eat enough to harm themselves.

 

[Browniethechicken]

Honestly, we humans are usually fussier about the precise makeup of the nesting material than the chickens are.

18 weeks is about the earliest that you might see eggs from production-type layer strains. 20-24 is common, but some slower-maturing breeds might not lay until they're over 6 months old.

I have Sussex and autralorp- what do you think?

 

[Sussex19]

My Sussex start laying around 23 weeks, usually.

 

[3KillerBs]

I have Sussex and autralorp- what do you think?

I don't know anything about Sussex, but Australorps generally lay on the earlier side of the range.

Is it fall or spring in your part of the world (adding your general location to your profile helps when climate matters)? With days shortening in the Northern Hemisphere laying will be delayed compared to pullets coming of age when the days are lengthening.

 

[Browniethechicken]

I don't know anything about Sussex, but Australorps generally lay on the earlier side of the range.

Is it fall or spring in your part of the world (adding your general location to your profile helps when climate matters)? With days shortening in the Northern Hemisphere laying will be delayed compared to pullets coming of age when the days are lengthening.

I am in New England and the weather is definitely getting colder and the days shorter.

 

[3KillerBs]

I am in New England and the weather is definitely getting colder and the days shorter.

Laying is likely to start on the longer end of the range then.

It's not about the cold, really. It's about the length of daylight and the fact that it's decreasing.

 

[Browniethechicken]

My Sussex start laying around 23 weeks, usually.

Ok Thank you

 

[Chinachik]

does the egg song also have to do with their readiness? Two of my 20 week olds started chiming in on the egg song for the first time yesterday - it was so cute and it made me wonder, is an egg far behind?

They did seem to sing a little more just before

 

[Henfla]

I am in New England and the weather is definitely getting colder and the days shorter.

You can add artificial light if you don't have it. It should be on for about 14 hours. My light turns on at 5:30 AM and turns off at 7:30 PM (also the sun don't come up at all from november to february, so they really need artificial light here). Several of my pullets (21 weeks old) started laying this week, and I live far north in Norway where the temperatures now are about 46 degrees fahrenheit in daytime and 37 degrees fahrenheit at night (but in the coop it's about 59 degrees) so the temperature doesn't stop dem from starting to lay.