Henbit, our Rhode Island Red, laid her first pullet egg on Sunday, 9/27/15:

Henbit’s is the small pullet egg in the rear - the other two are ceramic decoy trainer eggs which were ejected from the nesting loft in the prelaying fray.

We surmised she was getting ready to lay when her behavior changed a few days prior. Here she is on Fri. 9/25, demanding an unusual amount of attention from us humans:

Henbit being a lapbird a few days prior to laying her first egg.

There are a number of behavioral changes which signal a pullet’s maturity and readiness to lay. Here’s what to expect when you’re eggspecting:

Timing:



Pullets will begin egg-laying around 6 months (18-24 weeks) of age.

The formation of each egg takes approximately 25 hours. A hen will lay at a slightly later time each day. Hens rarely lay in the evening and will instead skip a day to reset the cycle, and lay again the following morning.

Pullets might lay less often than mature hens; about an egg every 3-4 days versus two eggs every three days.

Hens need 13-14 hours of light per day to lay regularly. Pullets that mature in the autumn as natural sunlight is decreasing might lay irregularly or delay onset of laying until sunlight increases again in the spring, unless supplemental light is provided.

Henbit’s first egg had a small crack in it – perhaps the result of ‘dropping’ the egg onto the coop floor due to lack of laying experience.



Prelaying Behavior:



About an hour before laying, the hen will start searching for a nest site (nest-seeking). Nest-seeking is characterized by movement around and exploration of potential sites, nest-building, and ‘gackel-call’ vocalizations.

Prelaying behavior is triggered by a hormone released during the previous ovulation, not by the presence of an egg in the shell gland. If a hen can’t find a suitable place to lay, she might delay laying. This can result in eggs laid outside or on the coop floor.



A hen’s first egg might be laid in the litter or on the ground. Hens can be trained to lay in nesting boxes by placing a decoy egg in the box as pullets reach egg-laying maturity. Most hens prefer to lay in a secluded, protected nest site separated from the coop floor. However, one study shows that a small percentage of hens are ‘litter layers,’ consistently preferring to lay on the coop floor.

Henbit’s second egg (far left), and all subsequent eggs (so far), were laid in the nesting loft.



Hens exhibit more relaxed foraging, resting, and grooming behavior and spend less time nest-seeking as they gain experience with egg-laying.



Hens tend to lay in the same nesting site, and will exhibit motivated behaviors to reach an established site, including moving past an unfamiliar bird, through narrow passages, or through a push door.

Younger birds in a flock will tend to mimic those who start laying first in terms of nest site selection.



Egg appearance:

Pullet eggs are smaller than a mature hen’s egg, and are sometimes bloodstained.

Henbit’s egg is on the left; a cage-free store-bought egg is on the right for comparison.

Damerow, G. (1994). The Chicken Health Handbook. Storey Publishing.

Jacob, J. (2015). Normal behaviors of chickens in small and backyard poultry flocks. University of Kentucky.



Kruschwitz, A., Zupan, M., Buchwalder, T., & Huber-Eicher, B. (2008). Prelaying behaviour of laying hens (Gallus gallus domesticus) in different free range settings. Archiv fur Geflugelkunde, 72(2), 84-89.



Megyesi, J. (2009). The Joy of Keeping Chickens: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Poultry for Fun or Profit. Skyhorse Publishing.



Luttmann, R. & Luttmann, G. (1976). Chickens in Your Backyard. Rodale Press.

Webster, B. (2007). Backyard Flock Tip: Egg Laying Behavior. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. The Poultry Site.



Zupan, M., Kruschwitz, A., Buchwalder, T., Huber-Eicher, B. & Stuhec, I. (2008). Comparison of the prelaying behavior of nest layers and littler layers. Poultry Science, 87(3), 399-404. doi:10.3382/ps.2006-00340

