5 SIGNS A CHICKEN WILL START LAYING EGGS SOON

When a female gets ready to lay eggs, she will gain weight. You may notice that she’s heavier when you pick her up. Her abdomen will enlarge and feel firm. She will drink more water to replace the moisture that it takes to create an egg. Odds are good that she’ll also do more chewing, shredding items for her nest. If you try to reach into her cage, she may act protective, vocalizing and backing into a corner. Many types of birds will spend time on the floor of the cage instead of hanging out on the perches. Right before the egg is released, your pet may have larger, smellier droppings.

1) Enlarged Reddening Combs and Wattles

As a young chicken matures, their combs and/or wattles become increasingly large. If this happens very early on (under 8 weeks old) 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. As her hormones shift and she gets ready to start laying eggs, her combs, wattles, and face will change from light pink to brighter red in color. They will also swell and become larger. 

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 interest in the nesting box area than ever before. She may even begin to test it out and sit inside, even if she isn’t quite ready to lay yet. One 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 yard!) is to place false eggs inside the nest box. Chickens tend to like laying eggs in a clutch, where other eggs are. You could use specialty fake wood eggs, or what we’ve done in the past, golf balls

3) She May Get Louder

Have you heard a chicken “egg song” yet? I find it funny that crowing roosters are banned in many urban areas, because hens can be damn vocal too! (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 after they lay an egg. So, before your young chickens start laying eggs, they may become increasingly talkative too.

4) Increased Appetite

As a young hen gears up to start laying eggs, her body will go through numerous changes – inside and out. The process of forming and laying eggs takes a lot of energy! So, you may notice your maturing chickens begin to eat more than usual. Laying hens have different nutritional needs than younger pullets or chicks. Younger birds eat “starter” and “grower” feeds that contain higher levels of protein to support their rapid growth. Layer feeds have slightly less protein, and a little extra calcium for proper eggshell formation. Therefore, gradually transition your chickens to a layer feed when they reach 18 weeks of age – or when you getbbetween 5-10% egg production 

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

5) The Submissive Squat

Of all the signs that a chicken will start laying eggs soon, squatting behavior is the most telling in my opinion! As you walk by your young hen or reach out a hand to pet her, she may stop, squat, and put her wings out slightly to her sides. We lovingly call this “the submissive squat”.

Give the girl a good pet on the back, but keep in mind 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 around, she’ll submit to her human 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!