The short answer is around 20 weeks old. The long answer is that you may see eggs as early as 18 or 19 weeks old or she may hold out until 24 to 28 weeks old. It often depends on the number of daylight hours she’s exposed to (which is influenced by season) and how well she’s been fed. Let me share some tricks to help hurry up the process and show you the egg colors you may get when she does come into lay!
When do Easter Eggers Start Laying?
Most Easter Eggers are going to come into lay between 20 and 24 weeks old (5-6 months old). This is the average for most standard size chickens and Easter Eggers, which are a hybrid, are not really an exception. But there are some things you can do from the start to hopefully encourage your girls to begin laying closer to 20 weeks!
Feed for Eggs from the Start
If you’ve got Easter Egger chicks in the brooder, make sure they are on a minimum 20% protein chick starter crumble. If you can get 22-24% protein starter, use it! Do not use 18% chick starter. ALL of my Easter Egger hens who came into lay right at 20 weeks were on 20% protein minimum (and usually 24%) chick starter. My absolute earliest layers at 19 and 20 weeks-to-the-day old were fed Scratch and Peck brand starter mash which is a ground whole grain chick feed. (Afflink)
Supplement with Light
While pullets will generally come into lay around 20-24 weeks old, she needs a minimum of 15 hours of exposure to light entering her eye and triggering her pituitary gland to begin ovulation. When her body begins ovulating, or releasing yolks, egg laying begins shortly after. Having an electric or solar garden light in the coop that stays lit from sunset until it turns off 15.5 hours after that day’s sunrise can help. (I have a pair of floodlights on the back of my house that point at my coop, which I flick on at sunset and turn off when I go to bed.) Painting or lime washing the interior of the chicken coop in white is believed to help bounce light around earlier in the morning and later in the evening. It’s an old keeper’s trick that has been used for centuries.
Shades Off
If it is a pleasant time of year and your flock does not need shade cover from the scorching summer sun, consider removing any tarps or shade cloth. The increase in sunlight streaming into the coop and run for just a bit longer each day will help ensure enough light is entering her eyes.
Entice Her Appetite
A pullet who is eating well, getting an abundance of fresh greens and hearty bugs is going to have everything her body needs. Food intake and body warmth are primary needs, while reproduction is a secondary need. She won’t come into lay early if she’s malnourished in any way. I use homemade chicken scratch blends to keep my pullets interested in food and actively eating, especially when they seem bored with their grower crumbles around 16 weeks old.
Calcium in and Eggs Out?
You may be in a hurry to feed your pullets flaked oyster shell, which is a fantastic source of calcium for laying hens. Sadly, the extra boost of calcium does not cause an Easter Egger pullet to begin laying. However, the naturally present calcium in backyard weeds and common clover is an excellent, bio-available source that chickens benefit from. You can give her as many green weeds as you care to pick! The phytonutrients in plants rush good nutrition to her entire body, including her reproductive system. It won’t force laying but excellent nutrition ensures her body has all the building blocks needed to begin ovulation. (Afflink)
Bullied Easter Eggers Start Laying Later
If your sweet Easter Egger hen is being pecked away from the food bowl by higher ranking hens, she isn’t getting the optimal nutrition she needs. Hens who are not eating enough won’t be early layers. Worse, pullets who are not consuming enough feed will never lay large sized eggs. They seem to forever lay USDA Medium sized gems. This is bad news if you are hoping to hatch big, robust chicks from her eggs.
Spread Out Feed & Treats
If you can, scatter healthy homemade non-GMO scratch and treats widely around the run so everyone gets a chance to have some. Use two feeders if you see bullying going on. An Easter Egger pullet must be consuming enough calories and her fair share of extras & treats (10% of her diet) if she’s to come into lay at 20 weeks. Otherwise her body will take another month to gain weight and attempt to finish growing since she’s been chased away from the feed so often.
Winter Warm Fronts
I’ve noticed that in February, when the temps are still chilly, a winter warm front that blows through and brings our daytime highs into the 50’s for a few days suddenly sparks some hens to begin laying. This seems to trigger both pullets and older hens who had ceased laying for the winter. Likewise, absolutely brutal, droughty August heat when I’m expecting March-hatched chicks to come into lay can horribly delay the pullets. Weather does seem to play some part. Chickens actually enjoy 40°F to 80°F weather and seem most likely to begin laying early when outside temperatures are within that range. (I had the best luck with early October hatched chicks coming into lay in late February during a 2 day warm front.)
Provide Sparkling Clean Waterers
Eggs require water in order for the hen’s body to produce the liquid albumin (egg white) that surrounds the yolk. If she is not drinking for any reason, egg production will drop in already-laying hens and pullets won’t come into lay early. Keep waterers very clean, so the water tastes good and the hens drink deeply. Consistently dirty or frozen waterers will cause a delay in laying.
More Feeding Tips
By now you know that an Easter Egger pullet must be well nourished if she’s going to come into lay at 20 weeks old. If you’re experiencing a particularly bitter cold spell, I offer all my hens suet cakes intended for wild birds. This one-time boost of fat can really help the hens have a calorie boost that helps them stay warm. Again, if her basic needs for food, water, and body warmth are not being met, she won’t come into lay early. Fat and protein are valuable treats in cooler weather if you’re expecting eggs soon. In sizzling summer heat, she needs a wide range of nutrients, trace minerals, and hydration. I use this sweet molasses rehydrating water recipe to encourage deep drinking – and increased egg laying – from my summertime flock.
View Pics While You Wait!
Easter Eggers are my absolute favorite chickens. After the fun of watching them feather out into a rainbow of unique shades, where no two ever seem to be exactly the same, the wait for their colored eggs begin. Will it be blue, aqua, green, peach? Or something even more rare and beautiful? View pictures of all the Easter Egger egg colors our hens have laid over the year. If your chicks happen to be Americanas from Hoover’s Hatchery, who also provides Tractor Supply with Americana chicks, click the above link to view pics of the egg hues our 9 hens lay!
Easter Eggers Start Laying Soon
The wait for those gorgeous, colored eggs takes FOREVER! But I promise beautiful baskets of their bright blue and soft pastel eggs are always worth the wait.
You Might Also Enjoy Reading:
Chicken Egg Colors by Breed (50+ images with labeled eggs!)
Easter Egger Chicken Egg Pictures
Easter Egger FAIRY Eggs! (tiny colored oopsie eggs)
Miniature Bantam Chicken Colored Egg Layers
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