When does a chicken begin laying eggs?

After the cute, fluffy chick stage was over (which really only lasts about seven days), I began to look forward to getting my first egg from my first flock. But when does a chicken begin laying eggs?

When does a chicken begin laying eggs?

Beginning egg laying depends on a number of things such as breed, when she hatched, the time of year, temperature, environment, nutrition, blah, blah, blah I just want to know when to expect eggs!

The short answer is most hens will begin laying around 6 months (24-26 weeks) old.

When will my chicken hen most likely begin laying eggs rare 14 weeks common 22 weeks — This is not official in any way. A warm front seemed to induce most of our girls at 21 weeks to lay.

Mine began laying at 20, 21 and 22 weeks

My first flock of chicks were hatched October 2018. In the middle of a February cold spell, with nighttime temperatures regularly dipping into the 30’s, two of my barred rocks began to lay on the same day at 20 weeks and 1 day old. My first eggs ever. At exactly 21 weeks old we got our first colored egg from an Easter Egger. By that time one barred rock was laying almost daily. It got even more difficult to track as multiple other hens laid their first eggs at 21 and a half weeks old when a warm front hit, seeming to trigger several of the girls at once. By 22 weeks old we were getting 7 eggs per day from 14 hens. You think it would be easy to just observe which few were going in and out of the nesting boxes to determine who was laying but nooooo, all the girls were investigating the new boxes, kicking around in them for no reason and strewing straw all over the coop.

The Late Bloomers

Heavy bodied breeds, such as Orpingtons, are notoriously later layers. One of my three began laying at 22 weeks but the others took their sweet time. Wyandottes can be similar. Easter Eggers who have a cream legbar parent may not lay until 24 weeks.

Olive Eggers may take slightly longer to come into lay but their unique eggs are certainly worth waiting for!

What should I watch for?

It is difficult to pinpoint when a hen will start laying but there are some signs she’s close. The pullets began to investigate the nesting boxes by going in and out of them quickly around seven days before she laid her first egg. They would then go in the nesting boxes and squat or contentedly sit in them roughly two days before they laid their first egg. This interest in the nesting boxes and sitting behavior is the best indicator that she is mere days away from laying.

Well, that’s weird.

Some of the first eggs laid didn’t match the eggs that were laid second or third, which only added to the confusion of determining who was beginning to lay. My barred rock laid all four of these different colored eggs her first week. The last egg is the actual color she lays now but it seemed there was an initial darkening period. Hens also lay a tiny egg at first, called a pullet egg, which grows larger over the next month or two until she is laying a normal sized egg.

Weird egg barred rock layed lighter to progressively darker colored eggs her first week begin laying eggs

download our egg tracker & Get ready for eggs!

Would you like a handy way to track your flock’s laying habits? Our Egg Laying Tracker is a great way to journal what you collected so you can track monthly egg gathering totals. It is kid-friendly and there’s even an empty column if you want to track cream, chocolate or specialty eggs.

Silver Homestead Free Egg Laying Tracking Sheet PDF Download

Free egg laying tracker printable sheet track chicken hen begin laying by color — A blank column lets you track chocolate eggs or a specific breed, like Welsummers.

Once the Eggs Start, they Won’t Stop

Start collecting empty egg cartons months in advance (affiliate link) because you’re going to need them soon! Once your hens begin to lay, you will be getting an egg almost every day. If you’d love a personalized egg carton stamp, head over to my Etsy shop!