Signs of Laying??

[jonesiegirl]

I have 15 pullets- all 12-13 weeks old. Wondering when they'll start laying, its for a school project and if so are there signs i should be looking for??

 

[aoxa]

Depends on the breed. The general accepted starting week is week 20, but commercial layers can start anywhere from 17 weeks and up! I have a few that are over 30 weeks that haven't started yet.

They will lay when they want to, and not a minute before.

 

[aoxa]

As for signs:

If you feel around their vent, their pelvis will widen, their vents will be moist and oval. They will begin to squat. Mine have all tested out the nesting boxes at least a few days, if not weeks before laying. On the day OF, I notice a lot of nervous pacing and loud whining coming from the hen in question.

 

[lorain's fids]

I have 5 chickens, 1 started to lay around 25 weeks, the other 4 were closer to 31 weeks before they layed their 1st egg. About 2 weeks before they started laying they would start to squat and they also became very chatty.