wattle and comb development not always an indicator to start of egg laying..squatting is...

[lorain's fids]

My only squatter who is the ONLY one who is laying eggs(started at 25 weeks) is also a loner. She tends to go off on her own or when I am in the yard she follows me everywhere and she chats up a storm.

 

[lorain's fids]

Wow her comb and wattles are really developed compared to my BA, who is now 29 weeks and hasn't layed a single egg and done a single squat.

Unfortunately squatting, or more accurately NOT squatting, isn't an indicator either.

Of my original three BA pullets, I only had one who squatted before she started laying. The other two just started laying eggs without ever squatting. When the "squatter" died one of the others suddenly started squatting for me. The third BA has never squatted at all. They are now a year old, and have been laying since around 27 - 29 weeks (about a month after their wattles and combs grew huge and red).

The one in my avatar is the one who has never squatted. When this photo was taken, she was still a few weeks away from laying her first egg.

 

[debid]

I have heard that if you don't have a rooster one of the hens will "act" as the rooster. Is this the hen doesn't squatt?

Not in my experience.

Just to make it even more confusing, my "runs to you and squats when in the presence of ANY human like some sort of hussy" EE is the same one that challenges the cockerel daily (neck flares, flying at him with feet out, pecking him while he's mating, etc, etc.) She does other roostery things like perching above the rest and standing guard while they're ranging, trying to gather the others if she thinks they're too far away, defending the flock against our harmless dog, etc. She lays eggs regularly so I don't think she has anything physically wrong with her, she's just odd. And yeah, the cockerel is acting like a rooster but he's a very mild guy (he corrects her behavior but in the gentlest possible way) and she apparently thinks she could take him.