Increased activity and scratching around in the coop or yard. More vocalization, either crowing or clucking. More dust bathing. Spending more time perched on top of the nesting boxes you see any of these signs, it’s likely that your chickens are getting ready to start laying eggs.
What age do chickens start to lay?
On average, young female chickens start laying eggs or “come into lay” around 6 months of age. Some chickens may start laying eggs as early as 16 to 18 weeks old, while others may take upwards of 28 to 32 weeks (closer to 8 months old)!
You could be asking “When chickens stop laying?”
Molting is a natural cause for hens to stop laying. Once a hen reaches one year of age, she will molt once a year for the rest of her life. This molting cycle enables the hen to replace her feathers each year, which enhances her health and ensures she is prepared for the winter months.
How to know when your chickens will start laying eggs?
Signs Your Hen is Ready to Lay. Consider the Age of Your Chickens. Hens aren’t born ready to lay eggs from day one. How is your hen interacting with the rest of the flock? Your hen will begin to squat, your hens may be hungrier than normal, she will start to explore the nesting area, or look at the physical characteristics of your hen are a couple additional things to think about.
What do you do when your chickens stop laying eggs?
Use roll-away nesting boxes. When a hen lays an egg in one of these boxes, the egg rolls out of the nesting box, and the hen can’t reach it. Place golf balls in the nests. In theory, the hens will tire of pecking at these faux eggs, which can help to break their habit of pecking actual eggs. Fill an eggshell with mustard, which chickens hate.
What to do if your chicken stops laying eggs?
One option, especially if you have very few chickens, is to allow the older hen to contribute to the farm in other ways. Older hens are great bug catchers. Another option is to cook your chickens as meat chickens. The third option is to humanely dispose of a chicken.