When do chickens lay?

[naightengale]

we have one sexlink we call slow poke cause she can take up to 3 hours to deside to lay.. 15 min aint that long thou its not like a quik oo i gota go and they go go..they get the hinkering and go fluff around till it is time to push it out.

 

[novagirl73]

I figured it might take them a while to lay the egg, Thanks for the time frame.

 

[iheartnh]

My RIR is about 24 wks old and has started to "squat." She squawked and ran to the coop, where I found her panting and situating the hay in her nesting box. She has been in the coop for 15 min now, and no egg. This will be her first egg. How long should it take a "first timer" before becoming concerned ?

My first hen to lay would sit in the box for hours looking very intense - like 3, sometimes 4 hours. She still does it every now and then. Sometimes I feel like I should bring her something to read.

 

[PastorLarry]

Two Rhode Island Reds and Two Barred Rocks

 

[GSPx2]

My one laying hen usually lays in the afternoon hours. Once she layed around 11 am though. If she continues her pattern, today is her off day. She usually lays one egg two days in a row and then takes a day off then lays one egg two days in a row again and so on. So I'm off from work the next three days so I should be able to see how long it takes from when she enters the coop till she exits.

 

[novagirl73]

Yay! We got our first egg. It took her about three hours, a couple trips to the coop and back...and wah-LA. My son was elated , he found the egg and yelled, " I found the egg!" I think the whole neighborhood heard him shout. I wish I had video taped his experience. Chickens are so cool

 

[bboyd1]

Mine lay all day long. Probably because they all try to use the same nest box, so as soon as one moves out of the way, another jumps in that needs to lay. I collect at the end of the day when it starts getting dark becaue they are all done by then and getting ready to roost for the night.

 

[house of horton]

Mine are 22.5 weeks too and nothing. Oh well, It will come eventually...

 

[naightengale]

Mine lay all day long. Probably because they all try to use the same nest box, so as soon as one moves out of the way, another jumps in that needs to lay. I collect at the end of the day when it starts getting dark becaue they are all done by then and getting ready to roost for the night.

this is what mine do even thou there are more nest boxes they all want to lay in that ONE.. i cleaned every thing the other day and changed the hay in the nest... as soon as i was out of the way a hen came and sat in it and i swear the rest lined up single file to wait their turn it was too cute.. and of course the little hen who was in the box happened to be slow poke.(star is her name) so they were all clucking rushing her.. went back a few hours later and had 5 eggs..in one box 2 in another (the silkies like their "own" box) lol..
now the wayo mutts lay everywhere but their box...

 

[chickenluver555]

I check for eggs hourly between 11:00 and 4:00. But they usually lay around noon, although sometimes I find one later in the afternoon. I think it really does depend on the chicken

I am wondering how old chickens are when they begin to lay. I have read that they begin between 20 and 27 weeks old. I bought three Easter Eggers all from the same hatchery, and two of them started laying at 19 weeks. Now they are 23 weeks old and the third one hasn't showed any signs of laying yet. Is this normal?