How much longer till she lays?
This is one of the most common questions on the forum. Practically all of us have been there, waiting on that first egg. Unfortunately there is not a clear easy answer. Each pullet is an individual and will lay when she is ready. I've had pullets start at 16 weeks and some wait until 9 months. Waiting 9 months is really frustrating, I don't wish that on anyone.
I'm not going to guess breed, I'll let others play that guessing game. She looks like she is a production type pullet, those tend to lay earlier than the decorative or meat type birds. My 9-monthers didn't get that memo but they really do tend to lay earlier. Each pullet is an individual and while a breed or type may have an average age to start some individuals can be earlier and some later. You only have one. Is she an early, average, or late?
In Indiana your nights are getting longer. There is a correlation to light and them laying. Light is one of the triggers that tells them when to release a yolk to start the internal egg making factory making an egg so it can be laid during the day instead of at night. A longer day allows them to eat more so they have more nutrition to make an egg. Long nights is a trigger for them to start molting and stop laying. Many pullets ignore that their first fall/winter, especially the production types. Many does not mean all but there is a pretty good chance that if she does lay an egg before winter she will lay all through winter. Some people may tell you that you have to wait until the longer days of spring to get an egg. I find that to be incorrect. A few times I've had pullets start to lay in the first or second week of December during shortest days of the year and I do not supplement lights. Some people quote rules on when they start to lay but mine ignore those. You just don't know what they will do. There may be tendencies but there are no hard and fast rules..
There are several signs that a pullet may be thinking about starting to lay. These are just clues that she might be getting ready to lay, they don't mean it is absolutely certain. If a pullet squats for a male or even you it's considered a clue she may be thinking about it but I had a 13-week-old pullet squat for a 13-week-old cockerel. They went through the entire mating act, including vents touching. She did not start to lay until another two months. Squatting is a good clue but it is not for certain. At that age squatting is often about dominance.
Before they lay their bodies need to grow enough that they can safely lay. Their internal plumbing needs to change and the ova needs to grow big enough to become a yolk. Checking the pelvic bones can give you a clue of them getting ready but it's not a sure sign.
Often about a week before she starts to lay a pullet will look for a place to make her nest. If you see her in a nest sort of scratching it is a good clue. Finding the bedding or any fake eggs you have in there on the coop floor is a good sign and a warning to raise the lip of the nest to make it harder for them to scratch out the bedding and a real egg. These are the good pullets, they lay in a nest to start with. Some don't get this memo and may drop their first few eggs just walking around or even from the roost at night. They may be in those nests scratching for other reasons so while it is a good clue it is not definite.
One big clue is that the comb and wattles turn and stay bright red. Size doesn't matter, color does. The bright red is a signal to the rooster that this gal is laying eggs and needs them fertilized. It is not 100%, I've had some hens with really pale combs and wattles lay eggs, but I consider it a pretty good clue.
So when will she lay that first egg? I do not know, I've tried to explain why I don't know. I'm really sure it will not be in the immediate future. I would not be surprised at all for her to start within the next month or two. She is a production type and she looks very healthy. I understand how hard it is to wait and i wish you luck, but I'm afraid you have a way to go.
)
