Please tell me this isnt a Rooster...

[donrae]

All your birds are female

The sex link with the more developed comb looks like she'll be laying in the next few weeks. the other hen will match her pretty soon and you'll be getting nice brown eggs.

 

[NineAndCounting]

Eggs soon?! Yippee! How can you tell? I feel like I have so much to learn. Haha

 

[Shaunassy]

Usually when they are about to lay for the first time their combs get big, red and swollen. Congrats on having eggs soon!

 

[NineAndCounting]

Wow. Good to know.

 

[Shaunassy]

Your welcome

 

[Shaunassy]

Some other things to look for when they are about to lay is restlessness or going in and out of nesting boxes. I dont know if you free range or not but mine do and the day my first hen laid i could tell something was up. She was breaking away from the group and looking everywhere for somewhere to lay. Seeing this i penned her up in our run and sure enough later she laid her first egg. In order to ensure she lays in the nesting boxes its a good idea to put golf balls or fake eggs in them to temp her to use them since she will be laying for the first time. Thats what i read and did and all the hens have been laying there ever since. Even when they free range they return to the coop to lay which makes it easier for you to find. But being her first time laying and if no one lays before her she may not be good at picking out the best spot to lay. While my first hen did lay in the coop, she laid her eggsl in a pile of poop under where they roosted. But the second time around she got it right and all the others started laying soon after and used the nesting boxes right away from watching her lay and the golf balls being in there. The golf balls trick them into thinking another hen laid there so it must be safe to use.