Signs of first lay

[emimiller8]

My chickens are about five months old and haven't started laying! What are the signs that I can look for as to when they will begin to lay? I'm so excited I can't wait! Also does anything weird happen with or after the firt lay? Blood, pain, noise, ect. Thanks for your help!

 

[cafarmgirl]

Should be any time now. Their faces/combs will get very red when they are at point of lay. Shouldn't see anything odd or weird but you will certainly hear them announce it when they lay an egg!

 

[HEChicken]

Their combs and wattles will start to get larger and much redder. Sometimes they will squat when you walk near them (if you don't have a rooster). They might start checking out the nest boxes, or walking around making a bawk, bawk, bawk kind of sound. At 5 months, I would guess your first eggs aren't too far away!

Usually there isn't any pain associated with the first egg, though sometimes they don't understand what is happening and the first egg is laid wherever they happen to be standing at the time. Don't worry if that happens - they will quickly get to learn the sensation and head for the nest box ahead of time.

 

[emimiller8]

Thank you, how about how long does it take them to lay an egg. I am seeing all those signs so far I'm so excited!!!!

 

[HEChicken]

Do you mean from actual start to finish of the laying process? That varies a ton. I had a red sex link who raced to the nest box whenever I opened the coop in the morning, and within minutes was out at the feeder eating with the others. I also have hens who will sit in the box for hours at a stretch.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Lol, same here. Some wait until the last minute, run to the nest and shoot out an egg then leave just as fast. Other's sit in the box, contemplate life, arrange the bedding, talk about it and then maybe, finally lay an egg, then yak about it some more. Can be a very time consuming process for some hens!

 

[emimiller8]

Do they lay eggs at night or usually when it's light out?

 

[feeding frenzy]

For a month or so before my hen first laid eggs, she was VERY grouchy, bawking all the time and refuses to let me pet her. . She would hang out in the nesting box I made for her a good month and a half before laying first egg.

 

[missnu01]

Most lay eggs early in the morning, but for whatever reason I used to go to the coop in the morning and find a number of eggs all at once. Now I find eggs throughout the day and it seems there is always a chicken on a nest. So I go up and get one egg but there's a chicken on the nest so I bring the one egg back in and in a few hours go out to the coop again and find 2 eggs and another chicken on a different nest, so I grab those 2 and go back later.., long story short I get eggs all day long. One hen was laying at 4:30 this afternoon in the top of a stack of hay bales in the garage underneath the coop.

 

[HEChicken]

Do they lay eggs at night or usually when it's light out?

They lay throughout the day, until the light starts to fade. Occasionally you might even find one on the floor under the roosts that was laid while she slept.