Do you take immature leap chickens at abode? If then, I bet you lot're eagerly waiting for those fresh eggs to arrive…. and I don't blame you! Home-raised backyard chicken eggs can't be beat. If you're wondering when your chickens will offset laying eggs, read along to larn the signs that signal eggs are on the mode. We'll talk about the average historic period that chickens start to lay eggs, how breed plays a role, and a few tell-tale signs that eggs are on the manner.

Keep in mind that every chicken is different, and in that location is goose egg y'all can do to rush them to grow upwardly – so just be patient and bask the teenage years while they concluding. Be sure to check out the video of Phoebe laying an egg at the end of this post!


What age do chickens unremarkably start laying eggs?


On average, immature female chickens kickoff laying eggs or "come into lay" around 6 months of age. Some chickens may first laying eggs as early on as 16 to 18 weeks old, while others may take upwardly of 28 to 32 weeks (closer to viii months one-time)! Over the years, we have had some extra-early overachievers along with our fair share of tardily bloomers, but establish that effectually 20 to 22 weeks was the most common historic period for our chickens to start laying eggs.

Four young pullet Hens are roosting on a wooden saw horse perch. Each one is different in color, one is black and copper, one is bright orange to tan, another is black and white, and the last one is light brown with some black. There combs and battles are nearly non existent at their young age.
Some of our girls when they were sugariness 16 (weeks) – and withal looking likewise immature to first laying eggs quite nevertheless!


Craven breeds and egg-laying


In addition to historic period, the detail breed of your chickens will also influence when eggs start to arrive. Certain breeds of chickens are known to offset laying eggs before than others, and each breed has their ain boilerplate age range for egg development.

Chickens that have historically been bred for the purpose of egg production often kickoff laying eggs sooner (equally early as 17 or 18 weeks sometime), including Leghorns, Gilt Comets, Sex Links, Rhode Isle Reds, and Australorps. On the other hand, heavier breeds like Wyandottes, Orpingtons, and Barred Rocks are known to take a bit longer. Our Easter Egger ladies are always final to add their colorful eggs to the handbasket, which is a known trait for their breed.

See our "Meridian 18 Backyard Chicken Breeds" article to acquire more well-nigh different breeds, including estrus and cold-hardiness, general demeanor, egg color and laying frequency.


Time of yr and egg-laying


The majority of young chickens will start laying eggs the first year that you have them. Yet if you lot happen to go your chicks subsequently in the year (summer or fall) and they come into maturity during darker, colder days of fall or wintertime, they may expect until the following spring to start laying eggs! Reduced daylight hours in the wintertime usually signals mature hens to take a natural break from laying eggs, conserving their free energy and nutrients to brace for the cold winter ahead. During a winter cessation of laying, you'll besides notice the chicken's combs and wattles go smaller and stake again, swinging with their hormones. However, it isn't uncommon for immature chickens to proceed laying eggs right through their first wintertime! So, they'll probably accept a intermission the post-obit wintertime after that.

Curious to learn more about caring for chickens in cold weather, including tips for winterizing their coop? Cheque out this article all most winter chicken care. Delight note that we don't propose lighting the coop to "strength" chickens to continue to lay eggs through winter. Their bodies know best, and need a natural break.


5 SIGNS A Chicken WILL START LAYING EGGS SOON


1) Enlarged Reddening Combs and Wattles


As a young craven matures, their combs and/or wattles become increasingly large. If this happens very early on (under 8 weeks one-time) it could be a sign that the chicken is a young rooster! On the other hand, young female chickens develop their combs and wattles more slowly. Every bit her hormones shift and she gets ready to start laying eggs, her combs, wattles, and confront will change from lite pink to brighter cerise in colour. They will likewise swell and become larger.

A two part image collage of a Barred Rock hen. The first image shows the hen before she is mature enough to lay eggs. Her comb and wattle are pale in color and small in size. She is standing on a chair with a chicken coop in the background. The second image shows the same hen a few weeks later after she started laying eggs. Her comb and wattle have grown larger and they are deep red in color. She is standing on a perch underneath a lemon tree.
On the left: Zoey, our current barred stone at exactly vi months old. She hadn't started to lay nevertheless, just was getting shut. On the right: Zoey, about 3 weeks after, right after she laid her first egg. Look how much more bright red and enlarged her comb and wattles got in less than a month!


2) Start Exploring the Nesting Box Area


In the weeks leading up to the first egg, a young hen will usually start to show more involvement in the nesting box area than ever before. She may even begin to test it out and sit inside, fifty-fifty if she isn't quite set to lay yet. I great way to encourage young chickens to lay eggs in their designated nesting boxes (as opposed to on the coop floor, or hiding them in the thousand!) is to identify false eggs inside the nest box. Chickens tend to similar laying eggs in a clutch, where other eggs are. You could use specialty false wood eggs, or what we've done in the past, golf balls!

The inside of a chicken coop nest box is shown from above. There are two boxes separated by a piece of plywood in the middle, each box has a nest pad and hay material for nesting. In one box there is three eggs, one green, one blue, and one brown. In the other box there is a black and tan Easter Egger chicken that has yet to lay an egg but is inspecting the nest boxes in anticipation of the day it will first lay.
Hennifer, an Easter Egger, was the last girl to start laying of the others her aforementioned age. Here she is starting to explore the nesting boxes and take interest in the other eggs. She laid her first egg a few days subsequently!


iii) She May Get Louder


Take you heard a craven "egg song" yet? I find information technology funny that exultation roosters are banned in many urban areas, because hens can be damn vocal as well! (Though I've read there is something more jarring and irritating about the tone of a rooster crow than hen songs to most people). Our chickens sing and squawk for hours before and later on they lay an egg. So, earlier your young chickens start laying eggs, they may become increasingly talkative too.


4) Increased Ambition


Every bit a young hen gears up to commencement laying eggs, her trunk will go through numerous changes – within and out. The process of forming and laying eggs takes a lot of free energy! Then, you may notice your maturing chickens begin to eat more than usual. Laying hens take different nutritional needs than younger pullets or chicks. Younger birds eat "starter" and "grower" feeds that contain higher levels of poly peptide to support their rapid growth. Layer feeds take slightly less protein, and a little extra calcium for proper eggshell formation. Therefore, gradually transition your chickens to a layer feed when they reach eighteen weeks of age – or when the first egg arrives, whichever occurs first.

I besides propose putting out a source of free-choice calcium (such as crushed oyster shells or eggshells) either equally soon as one hen starts laying eggs, or when you lot begin to notice the other tell-tale signs that eggs are coming presently. Check out this article to learn more than about providing essential calcium for laying hens.

Nosotros dearest having this reliable autodoor on our chicken coop, which lets the girls in and out of their protected run each morning and night.


5) The Submissive Squat


Of all the signs that a chicken will showtime laying eggs presently, squatting beliefs is the most telling in my opinion! As you walk by your young hen or reach out a hand to pet her, she may end, squat, and put her wings out slightly to her sides. Nosotros lovingly call this "the submissive squat".

Give the daughter a good pet on the dorsum, but keep in listen the biological reason for her squatting behavior isn't about cuddling with humans! She is signaling that she is ready and willing to be mounted by a rooster to fertilize her forthcoming eggs. If there is no rooster effectually, she'll submit to her homo instead. Now, not every chicken will undoubtedly squat, but all of the girls in our flock did  – and started laying eggs within a week or two thereafter!

An orange and black Easter Egger chicken is squatting and being pet along her back by an outstretched arm. The submissive squat is a sure fire sign that the chicken will start laying eggs soon.
Peach, one of our old Easter Egger girls (no longer with united states) – showing us her best submissive squat.
A hand is holding a dark brown egg in front of a Black Copper Marans chicken who just started laying eggs. Her comb and wattle is dark red, she has copper specks mixed into her black feathers along her neck.
Luna (Black Copper Marans) says… that came out of where?


The moment you've been waiting for: the commencement eggs have arrived!


When chickens kickoff laying eggs, their first eggs volition be significantly smaller than what they'll regularly lay as fully mature hens. Before you know it, yous'll have baskets total of beautiful big fresh eggs – right from your backyard.

In all, I hope this article helped to clue you in on the signs to scout for as your chickens become fix to lay. Be sure to thank your ladies for their hard work! Adjacent, check out this article most best practices for storing and washing fresh backyard chicken eggs. Please feel free to ask whatsoever questions, or spread the love by sharing or pinning this article!


But for fun, here is a video of our girl Phoebe laying an egg:


You may besides savor these related articles:

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  • Feeding Chickens Crushed Eggshells (or Oyster Shells) for Essential Calcium
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  • Caring for Chickens in Cold Winter Weather
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