When Will My Hen Lay Eggs?

You’ve been patiently waiting, and wondering when will my hen lay eggs? Then it happens. It’s like Christmas!!

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How do you know if your girls are ready to lay?

Pullets will generally start to lay around 18 weeks, however, it could be as early as 16 weeks or as late as 24 weeks, depending on the breed of your bird and time of year.

It takes about 14 hours of daylight for egg production so if you girls are of age in Winter it may be Spring before you see an egg.

Subtle Changes

As your pullet gets closer to laying, you will start to notice some subtle changes.

They may start checking out the nest box and may even spend time in there building a nest.

We purchased some fake eggs and placed them in the nest to encourage them to go in it.

You will want to make sure there’s enough bedding to “catch” the egg to prevent it from breaking (I used to think the bedding was to make the girls comfortable). If the egg breaks, most hens will eat it. This could resort to egg-eating behavior and you don’t want that!

Next, their combs and wattles will become a deeper red and look larger. This seemed to happen overnight for our girls. You could see an egg in the next week or so.

The Submissive Squat

The tell-tale sign that your girl is ready to lay is the submissive squat (our daughter calls it the rooster stance). The hen squats to allow the rooster to “climb on” and take care of business.

Your girls may associate you as the rooster, especially if you are the one primarily feeding them and giving them treats.

Ours will run up and squat in front of us and sometimes just the sound of my husband’s voice gets them to squat.

Once we noticed our girls squatting, it was less than a week when our hens laid their first egg.

It’s been 30 Weeks and Still No Eggs

If it’s been 30 weeks and your hen isn’t laying, this could be a sign of illness. The most common is mites or lice. These parasites suck the blood out of your chickens causing anemia and even death. Check the vent area and under the wing. If there are any mites, you will see them crawling; lice lay eggs and attach to the shaft of the feather. If your chicken should happen to have either, you will need to treat the entire flock plus clean out the coop and run.

Stress Can Affect Egg Production

Chickens won’t lay if they feel stressed or insecure. They need a quiet and safe place to lay.

It surprised me that chickens get stressed and that it can affect their laying. Some common causes:

• Do they feel safe in the nest box?
• Are they concerned about predators?
• Have you added a new bird to the flock?
• Is there enough room in the coop or run?
• Are they being bullied by the other hens?

Chickens need plenty of feed and water to lay eggs

Make sure your girls are getting plenty of quality feed and water. It takes a lot of protein and calcium for good egg production. I worry about our girl that’s at the bottom of the pecking order. She gets runoff from food and water all the time. To help with this, we make sure the pans are full and put several out in different areas. She tends to eat once everyone else is done.

Egg production requires around 14-16 hours of daylight usually. If your chicks were born in late summer or early fall, you may not see an egg until next Spring.

So if you are still wondering when will my hen lay eggs, be sure and explore some of these situations.

If none of the above is an issue and your chickens free-range, your hen could be laying somewhere else besides the nest box.

We were surprised and a little relieved when we found a stash in my husband’s lawnmower bag.