How do I know if my Americauna hen is mature?

[kfrank12]

Hi everyone,

I am still pretty new at raising chickens and wanted to pick your brains! We got 4 hens when they were 5 weeks old and they are now just slightly over 28 weeks old. Our BR just layed her first egg 5 days ago (we've gotten 3 total from her so far!) and our BO just layed for the first time yesterday. I watched our Americauna go into the nesting boxes yesterday to check them out, then proceeded to kick the pine shavings out of the box and "rearrange" them if you will.

Does this mean that she is starting to exhibit signs of maturity and is coming into laying age? Or could she be doing this because the other girls have just started laying in the boxes and she is simply just interested? Her comb and wattle look so different from the others, that I just assumed she still had a couple months left before we started getting any eggs from her. I googled some images of a mature Americauna, and now I am starting to question if she is getting close or not! I've attached 2 pictures that I took yesterday to see if maybe someone can tell how close she might be to laying based off what she looks like? They are slightly blurry since I had to zoom in so close, but hopefully you can still get a good idea of how much longer we have with her?! And, I understand that any answers given would just be a guess.

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

 

[ChickenGirl555]

Has she been submitting/ducking when you put your hand over her or on her back? Usually, this is a sign a few weeks prior to laying.

 

[sourland]

She is an Easter Egger, and it looks as if she is reaching point of lay. Because of their varied genetic makeup EE tend to mature at varying times. Their combs and wattles are generally minimal as compared to other breeds. Good luck on those blue eggs.

 

[kfrank12]

Slightly but nothing major. I let them out to graze yesterday while I cleaned to coop/run and I could not get the little stinker to go back in afterward! She squatted a couple times, but I don't know if it is just because she felt cornered, or she was actually doing the infamous squat. She is not "as" skittish as she once was, but she's still not our most lovable and/or approachable hen.

 

[kfrank12]

You think she is an EE and not an Americauna? Is there a huge difference other than the blue vs green egg color?

 

[sourland]

Ameraucanas have specific recognized colors. She is not any of those colors. She is still a beautiful bird.

 

[kfrank12]

Ameraucanas have specific recognized colors. She is not any of those colors. She is still a beautiful bird.

Ahh, good to know, thank you for that tip!

 

[kfrank12]

@sourland - if she is really an EE, is there a chance she won't lay a blue or green egg? I just read they can lay pink and brown eggs as well. We did get a brown egg yesterday and assumed it was from our BO since her wattle and comb are red and she is squatting every time we approach her

 

[Hobbits Mommie]

She's a pretty little bird!

 

[crunchymama11]

I have 2 EE that look exactly like yours. Both were hatched May 7 so 27?28? weeks. 1 was my first layer out of a mixed flock of 5 and she's been laying about 6 weeks- a beautiful turquoise egg! The other is not laying yet- hopefully her egg is also blue or green. My non-laying EE has been playing and sitting in the nest boxes for awhile, and started squatting yesterday.