When to expect an egg

[rosemary10]

Hello! I'm new to egg layers and I've been eagerly awaiting for the arrival of the first egg! I have standard cochin/americauna mixed pullets. They are beautiful! They are also five months old and I can't tell when they are gonna start laying. The anticipation is agonizing and I'm hoping some of the more experienced chicken experts will be able to help me out! I've attached pictures that are up to date. Please help!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Cochins can be late bloomers. Most start from 6-8 months, so that's when I would expect eggs from them.

 

[blackdust951]

helloand welcome to backyard chickens! the usual age for chickens to start laying is around 6 to 9 months so about 1 to 4 months to go

 

[staceyj]

I'm a newbie too, but learning fast !
I thought I'd die of anticipation honestly.
2 welsummers, 1 australorp, and 3 buff Orpingtons, All late blooming breeds I've been told.
1 of the welsummers laid at 24 weeks -once-
then nothing!
Six days passed.
STILL NOTHING! Oh GOD!
I read these boards, googled about egg bound hens, excused myself and lifted their fluffy butt feathers to peek at their winky vents, Did they look " juicy?" Were they as big as a quarter? I measured the width of their pelvic bones with my fingers based on a you tube video I'd watched...
Good God. I was a basket case! LOL
I'm 54 years old. I G ave birth to four children.
I don't think I'd looked forward to something THIS MUCH in a very long time.
I was worried to death, ran out my back door literally every ten minutes from sun up to sun down, checking.
Had all my family members on "imminent egg watch" via text message. Then....
On the seventh day... so well into week 25, (Rosey) put herself in the nest and worked for two hours to push out an egg. I sat right there. I admit it. Okay? 92 degrees. Sweat poured off me. The mosquitos declared my legs an all you can eat buffet. Rosey was pale and panting. I fanned her with the mail. I held water for her to sip from a paper cup! Poor girl. She whimpered. I felt so sorry for her! I worried that she was trying to pass an egg the size of a competition softball after so many days! I was sure she'd die. Planned to bury her under the magnolia tree in fact.
Nope. It turned out to be a pretty small/ med. egg after all that. But boy was it a beauty.
An hour later (Margaret Tate- the australorp) disappeared from the group and went to the nesting box. Oh my! The same drama!!! She cried the whole time! No one told me this part of owning chickens!
Omg. I felt so guilty I was ready to become vegan!
Two hours later one of the buffs went in there! Oh gosh! Did I even have it in me to be an hen doula a third time in one day??!!!
Nope. She was quick as a wink. Pointed her back end up impossibly high, squeezed her little eyes shut, fluffed up her feathers and POPPED that egg out in about two minutes. Lololol
Hooray! What a fun day!
Within 2 weeks everyone was laying. No one is crying anymore. Consistency is getting better. The eggs are getting bigger. Each one is entirely unique. They sing the egg song, which personally I find hilarious! (Margaret Tate sings for everyone.)They've worked out who likes to be in which nesting box. It's still the highlight of my day though to pop open the egg collecting door and catch two girls " working on it" at once!
It'll happen. Have faith.
But don't lose as much sleep over it as I did! I'd try not to worry for another full month.

 

[rosemary10]

Ok, so this morning I went out to do all the chores and when I was letting out my hens, one of them, Rosemary, did the submissive squat!! I patted her on the back and she stayed for a bit and then she ran off. How long now?

 

[Dayrel]

Based on my limited experience- a few days to two weeks.

 

[rosemary10]

Her pelvic bones are also about two and a half finger widths apart, does this mean anything? Her cloaca is a brighter pink and appears to be bigger than her sisters

 

[FrankHomestead]

My girls are almost 24 weeks and I too have scoured resources to give me an answer, when will they lay, when will their waddles grow in, when will their combs get big and bright...I gave up my constant wondering. There simply is no answer, each animal is different. now here comes the dreaded cliche....only time will tell

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They can squat up to a month before generally.

 

[staceyj]

Could be any day if she squatted then stayed there!
Make sure you have your nesting boxes set up and ready.
( I also baited mine with a fake egg- they kept pushing that out.
Then I switched to a golf ball. They love the golf balls for some reason)