Olive egger first egg?

[chickentvforme]

I have an olive egger pullet (16 weeks). In the past week or so her comb and face has been red. I know this can signal egg laying. How far in advance does this redness occur?

 

[Alexandra33]

I guess it can vary among chickens; I currently have some 25 and 23 week old pullets whose combs and wattles are deep red and have been for some time. Yet, they still have not begun laying. My biggest signal that the girls are getting close to laying is when they start "squatting" every time you touch or call to them. After that, you could expect the bird's first egg in about 1-3 weeks.

I will add that there are exceptions to this rule, though, because my Partridge Rock has never squatted, and she just so happens to be one of our best layers.

-Alexandra33