When do chickens start laying eggs?

[Brissychick]

Quote:
Wow 4 Months + 10days!!! That is very lucky. I am still waiting. My 4 are coming up to 26 & 27 weeks and still no eggs. One of them (the Barnevelder) has large combs and Waddles and has started "squatting", but that started over 3 weeks ago. 2 of them have waddles and combs turning red, but no growth or Squatting yet. Considering one is a Rhode Island Red I am really frustrated. The Wyandotte hasn't even started turning red yet. The Barnevelder has started sitting in the nest boxes and singin the egg song and making a lot of noise but no egg. She is teasing me. I hope the eggs are large for you. How long before you see what the true size of egg will be?

 

[bellabay]

Usually at 7 months

 

[lisadickerson]

Do you have to have separate nesting boxes or can you use a long bench type with hay?

 

[sheetmetaltom]

I have 5 boxes they lay in 2 regularly, they also lay outside 1 box for some reason. I use hay, shredded leaves, pine shavings, whatever I have at the time. they don't seem to care. some of them go in my duck house, no boxes in there, the ducks take leaves and make some petty neat nests, the hens will lay and mix with the duck eggs. the ducks will sit on them til I chase them to collect the eggs.

 

[colelittle]

At 27 weeks my americauna finally laid her first egg. She put it right in the nesting box. She's been laying for a week now and we've gotten 5 eggs total. She puts them in the nesting box every time - it's so amazing! It makes you wonder how they know to do that. Each egg I get seems like a small miracle. Here's a picture of her first egg.

as long as you keep hay or straw in the nesting box it will keep laying there.

 

[nmadams]

the top pictures are of Charlotte our RIR and Bird one of three Columbian Rocks at 11 weeks old. The bottom picture is of them at 15 weeks. I think Bird was making a nest in the nest box because I found one of her feathers in there, she is also very chatty all the time! They are about 16 weeks old now. I can't wait for our first egg!!

 

[reedcrew]

My RIR girl just laid her first egg at 19 weeks! Yay! But what was odd is that she made a nest within the nest, I never saw that before. My other girls just go in and drop, this one
took her time. The egg is teenie too, but I guess that's normal for a first egg.

 

[Zephyr]

I have four--my first time raising chickens--have built them a large coop with a huge run area for the four of them. The coop has two nesting boxes with outside access. They are around 5 1/2 months old and the two rhode island reds have started laying already. At first they laid sometimes in the boxes and sometimes wherever. Now it seems the laying is all wherever--any thoughts on why? I have found them on the floor of the coop, by the feeder, in the corners, and just laying out in the open. Also looking to the day when the laying is more consistent. Since they started 2 weeks ago, have had two eggs on two days, the rest have been one egg and two days with no eggs. I worry about the diet. Switched to organic layer from the organic pullet feed I was using when I got the first egg. They didn't seem to care for the pellets, but seem to be eating it now...I did like someone else on here had written---and I mixed in organic corn, oats, flax meal, whatever that I knew they liked before, for the last week and a half and I think that has helped them adjust to the pellets somewhat.

The two barred rocks aren't laying yet, but it is AMAZING to me the personality change in the reds since they started laying and I noticed it IMMEDIATELY! They were pretty skittish since chicks but now they crouch down and have me pet them and fly up on my arms to perch for treats--
video of them all now online on my webpage-
http://trackingyourroots.com/temp/a.mp4

 

[kerrilee]

i Just wanted to point something out! it is not a good idea to feed your chickens egg shells because you are teaching them to eat there own eggs. when a chicken lays an egg and they peck the new egg they will eat the egg they laid. this is very bad as any chicken that eats her own eggs need to be butchered or they will teach the other chickens to eat there own eggs. if you want to just use oyster shells thats fine but you can also use sand as an alternative to help harden there eggs. Good luck i hope you get eggs very soon and the chickens don't peck and break there own eggs and eat them.

 

[Shinshaid81]

I'm so excited... I have almost 30 chickens, but 5 white leghorns and 4 buff orpingtons just popped their huge red combs, and the roos are definitely interested. I'm waiting for an egg explosion!! I have three EE and one silkie that lay now, but soon I'm hoping I can use the basket I got for egg collecting!

Some of my first eggs (the most egg-citing day ever!)