Lowest in ranking, last to lay?

[blueberrychickens]

I was wondering something about the pecking order & laying. I have 8 girls, 7 are laying (I got 7 eggs today for the 1st time!

) The lowest girl in the pecking order, I don't think she had laid any eggs yet as she doesn't even squat like the other 7 do. Her comb & wattles are considerably smaller than the rest of the flock too. Could she just be a late bloomer or does the fact that she is low in rank contribute to the fact that she's not laying yet??? I have seen her in the nest boxes, but I think she's just practicing. They are all the same age & my other BO was one of my 1st to lay.

 

[bills]

I found that my lowest bird in the pecking order was the last to lay. It was a few weeks after the others were all producing that she finally laid one.
I suspect it may be because she suffered from social anxiety that was all consuming, and prevented her from concentrating on producing an egg. Similar to a flock that has had a bad predator scare, and they stop laying for a few days.

Wierd as it is, as they grew old, and stopped producing altogeather, this bird was also the first to die. The next one to pass on was the head hen. Perhaps it was all the stress of trying to stay boss of the other hens..The middle income earners are all still doing fine. So perhaps the lesson to be learned here is, it's better to keep a low profile..but just not too low..