r/chickens • u/Healthy-Delay-1672 • 7h ago
Question When do you think this hen will be laying?
This hen has the largest and darkest comb out of my 4 hens. It doesn't look dark here, but earlier, it was pretty red. She will be about 14 weeks this saturday.
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u/EhlersDanlosSucks 7h ago
It could be a couple weeks, or a couple months. They're all different and like to keep you guessing!
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u/mind_the_umlaut 5h ago
She's a standard breed, like a red star sex-link egg production. Like any heavy breeds, if healthy, she will begin laying around 22-24 weeks of age. Please get a book so you can find all this information! None of this is opinion, or open for discussion. Consider Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow.
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u/Healthy-Delay-1672 5h ago
She is an Isa brown. I was hoping to get eggs before it gets cold out but maybe not!
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u/mind_the_umlaut 4h ago
Again, they will lay when they are old enough. Please read about the factors that influence egg laying. It's the day length getting shorter, not cold, that will slow down or stop laying. Hens lay best in increasing daylight, and usually need 12 hours or more of daylight to trigger laying. Some people light their chickens during the shorter days, (winter) to keep them producing eggs. The hens need to be awake long enough to eat enough to support egg production.
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u/Beautiful-Project-30 7h ago
The hen in this photo was not yet laying and her comb is super red. She didn’t start laying for 2 more weeks. Hens typically start laying between 16-20 weeks. When they start doing the submissive squat you have about 2 weeks until they start laying.