Question about laying and combs

[tweetzone86]

Hello all!

So my RIR pullets are now 19.5 weeks old, and I'm starting to check for eggs I bought wood nesting boxes from Tractor Supply (3 boxes for 12 chickens) and two brown ceramic eggs to train them not to peck before eggs start coming.

My question is WHEN will they begin to lay? I've got two ladies with some decent 1/2" wide (top of head to top of comb) combs and wattles about the size of a dime. Another one is getting there, and others still have a ways to go comb and wattle-wise.

They're all the same age, arrived at the same time, etc. Switched to layer feed last Thursday because my tired and sick brain (I've got a horrible cold right now) mistakenly thought 18 weeks not 19 til I counted very carefully. Also crumbled up some white eggshells from my storebought eggs (boiled first to sanitize) and I installed a plug in shoplight in my shed and have been trying to maintain 14 hours of daylight for them (getting timer tomorrow from Amazon- will be glad to not have to wake up at 4:30 am to plug it in manually when I'm trying to get rest due to the cold). They also have access to water and I refill their dish when necessary.

Thanks to neighborhood cats (one found a weak spot in our run so redoing it. Three cats are bent on having chicken dinner so I can't let them free range in my backyard without being out there myself and I can't babysit them all day long) they're literally cooped up BUT it's at the back 5-6 feet of a 10x20 insulated shed (we built a wall with a door between the coop area and the rest of the shed and it's framed with chicken wire so they can't get out). So the coop area is 10 feet wide by about 5-6 feet long and I have 12 chickens so they have enough space to stretch out a bit.

So any idea on what to look for when they are ready to start laying? The ceramic eggs have been moved a bit so I'm not sure if they're pecking at them still or not (just got them yesterday) but no real eggs yet. When I gently pet the back end they do go down, but I'm not sure if it's instinct or them just trying to get away because they don't want to be picked up (as they run away from my hand. I tend to pick them up when they stubbornly refuse to go back in the coop).

And is their combs a good indicator of when they may begin to lay? Should I expect eggs when the combs and wattles are bigger and bright red (or at least red-red and not pinkish)? And why would it be that only a few have really red combs (no males thankfully but confirmed. No crows and no sickle feathers or spurs or anything like that) while the others are smaller when they're the same age?

Thank you all for helping a newbie with the "9 months pregnant and anxious for labor" feeling of a new chicken mom awaiting the first eggs

 

[ejtrout31]

my rir comes are little and are laying i just starting getting eggs from them a week ago they hatched the first week of april

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Don't pay as much attention to comb size but do pay close attention to the color and texture of the hen's face and comb.

A hen who is nearing POL will sport a plump deep red comb and head. Furthermore the skin on her face will appear like a very ripe strawberry complete with tiny little lumps or a rough appearance.

 

[aart]

My question is WHEN will they begin to lay?

When they are darn well and ready!!
Could be soon, pullets coming into lay at this time of year(if you are in the northern hemisphere) can be slower to get things going due to the shorter days.
I know, it's frustrating....most my hens have stopped laying to molt and only 3 out of 10 22 week old pullets are laying.

Here's some tips on how to tell...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

 

[Hensndoes]

Are you goingto be building them a run? You have about 4sqft/bird which is okay for a coop, but I would say minimum run space is 10sqft. You may have some behavior issues spring up if they stay locked up like that for long.

 

[tweetzone86]

Are you goingto be building them a run? You have about 4sqft/bird which is okay for a coop, but I would say minimum run space is 10sqft. You may have some behavior issues spring up if they stay locked up like that for long.

Yes I am working on it (or was, til I accidentally stepped on a nail that went through my shoe- then stepped on a second one trying to get off the first one. Hello urgent care...). I had one, but a neighborhood cat found a weakness in it and I am having to redo it to make it more secure. But I am working on one, and when I'm outside doing so I let them out. I'm trying a secure but temporary measure (wiring the roof wire directly to the wall wire for now) til my husband can get post holes dug for a more permanent framework for the wire (and get more wire staples). I've got the 4 sides pretty well done except for building a human-sized door (shed is in a corner of my yard so two sides of the run are my 6' fence and the other is the shed so just closing off the ends), but need a stronger framework for the roof (as I live in north Idaho and we get about a 40 lb snow load).

But with rocky soil, digging the post holes is slow going. We've got to dig 2 feet down to get below frost line. I've already got the posts from reclaimed heavy equipment pallets (4x6x10 heat treated oak that we'll be cutting down to 8') and the 2x6x4' cross beams that I am going to use for the roof. There's only so much I can do during the week at 5' tall and need his muscle during the weekends.

But the run area will be about 8'x30' when it's completed. In the meantime, I'm trying my best with what I have. Stupid cats...

 

[PirateGirl]

Even birds of the same breed hatched the same day will develop at different rates and will lay when they want to lay. I feel like wattles are a pretty good indicator. Once they are almost circular vs. little red oblong slits, they are close. You may notice changes in behavior too, not just the squatting, but my pecking order was shaken up, birds that had been flighty became friendly, quiet birds became loud, things just start to change in general. There is no magic age. I have had birds lay at 5.5 months and others lay at 11 months. Some will wait for longer days, but with supplemental lighting, that might not matter. Being patient for that first egg is hard, hopefully it's soon!