Laying?

How to Determine if a Hen is Laying

A hen who is laying well will have a moist, pink vent, and a wide, plump pelvis.

With large fowl, if you check the space above her vent on her abdomen, feeling with

your hand until you find the two pelvic bones. On a large hen, 3 fingers should be

able to fit between those bones on a hen that is currently laying. If you can only fit 2

fingers, the hen is not laying.

On a bantam, you have to consider the size of the hen

and egg.

Also the redness of the facial skin is helpful to gauge if a hen is in lay. Hens that are

in lay will have vivid red faces, combs, and wattles. Those who are not in lay will

be pale in those areas. Comparing comb *size* is not always helpful--especially

with different breeds, hens may have very different sized combs. Leghorn hens have

very large combs that flop over, while Easter Eggers have compact pea combs,

barely there by comparison.

As well, the legs of a good layer may also be paler or "bleached" (in brown egg

laying breeds with yellow legs). A poor layer will have lots of pigment. Hens who

are good layers may also have broken feathers, simply because their bodies may put

fewer resources into their plumage. Make sure your layers have a high protein diet

with plenty of calcium for strong egg shells, and so they can maintain the health and

gloss of their plumage at the same time.

If you are looking for visual signs that your young pullet is getting ready to come

into lay, those might include the fact that her comb will get larger and redder right

before she begins, and she will begin to "squat" submissively when you reach down

to pick her up. Additionally, she may get a little louder right before she begins,

since she is experiencing new instincts, and she may not be sure exactly what they

are telling her to do, yet. She may go in and out of nest boxes looking for a safe

place, and she may try to drive the other hens away from possible egg depositories

if she is feeling protective. After she gets used to the process, things will go more

smoothly and she will be less irritable.

One other thing to note is that hens who are molting will not be laying, as they need

their energy to molt. Hens who shed all their feathers at the same time, or have a

short molt, are good to note and keep, as it means they will come back into

production sooner. Hens who take a very long time to molt should ideally be culled,

as they are poor producers, and will pass that trait onto their offspring.

Is My Hen Laying?