"Practice" Egg Song?

Stacykins

Crowing
9 Years
Jan 19, 2011
4,355
235
258
Escanaba, MI
So this morning after feeding, watering, and letting the chooks out to free range I went back inside to feed my dog and conure. I had a window cracked (it was 30 degrees out, more than a crack lets all that cold in!), and enjoyed listening to the young cockerels test out their voices. But after a bit, I heard a very clear egg song! My oldest three pullets are 18 weeks old, so they are getting close to egg laying age. They are two BCMs and an Australorp (from a breeder not a hatchery), but I am not sure how long the average age for those breeds to lay it. I didn't go see who it was, since I didn't want to interrupt, but she sang for a good five minutes and was much louder than the cockerel crows! I am certain it wasn't coming from one of the boys as a "Danger Will Robinson, danger!" warning, since everyone was happily free ranging and there were no birds running back to the shelter of the coop.

I did check the nest boxes later to see if there was a pullet egg, but find anything. So do pullets practice their egg song before they get to laying age? I am certain of the sound, since I've heard it before with a friend's chickens, and youtube videos (BEGAWK! bok bok bok bok bok BEGAWK! bok bok bok etc. ).
 
yes, they do practice. I recently had a bantam orpington start laying and she spent about 2 weeks singing and sitting in boxes before she finally got the first one out.

And sometimes mine do it when someone else has laid

or someone pushed them out of the nest box before they are ready

and some of mine sneak in and lay and then sneak out without any pomp and ceremony.

good luck;)
 

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