I know the egg song was an indicator that my young birds were about ready to lay. We're at 9 months old now and along with dealing with very short days (Latitude 48), we're going through a pretty decent molt. It's been 1.5 - 2 months since we've had any eggs. Yesterday and today I've heard the egg song. Something we haven't heard since they've quit laying. I checked the box and around the yard and found no eggs. Could this be a sign that they're starting to gear up to lay again? (PLEASE!?!! I got so spoiled on good eggs!!!!)
Chickens make many different sounds, many of which sound quite a bit alike. There is a distress call that sounds a lot like the egg song. It’s possible that’s what you were hearing. There is disagreement in what the egg song actually means. Not all hens sing it after they lay and egg and sometimes they use it even when they have not laid an egg. The explanation for its meaning that makes the most sense to me is that the hen has become separated from the flock and is calling them, trying to locate them. I’ve had roosters (not all roosters but some) that would leave the flock when they heard a hen giving the egg song, go to her and mate with her (so the hen laying an egg is fertile), then lead her back to the flock. I understand your desire for eggs. Man, do I understand that. But they will lay when they lay. You can get all kinds of signs but they really don’t mean much until you actually see an egg. Good luck!
