Lacey the Wyandotte lays her first egg!

'I don't mind when they start to lay'
Is something I told myself over the last few weeks while relentlessly googling for signs that a Wyandotte pullet is ready to lay an egg...

When a hen lays her first egg seems to be affected by quite a few things including breed, genetics and daylight hours. Looking around I found people with 'dottes who laid anywhere from 14 weeks to (the much more likely for this heavy breed) 24 weeks and even up past 42 weeks.
I knew to look out for large red waddles and comb (but how red should it be and how big?), them checking nesting spots and squatting submissively so a rooster can mount.
Cockerels will mature much earlier than their lady friends, you should see them dancing and trying to jump on their hens before the girls even know what's happening.
Sunny and Lacey both have quite red combs and waddles but with fewer daylight hours I knew it was likely they could wait until spring to lay.

Lacey at 25 weeks old on the 9th of April

 

27 weeks old on the 25th of April

 

Comb and waddles of Lacey on the first day she laid an egg,

29 and a half weeks old on the 10 of May 

 

On Sunday Lacey wandered in and out of the coop
'Preeep?'
Slowly under the roosting bars where Bonnie duck lays
'Preeeeep'
into the dark corner where Whitney makes a crater to lay
'Preeep'
 quick inspection of the nesting boxes.
Chuck followed, clucking softly. Sunny followed too
Blue and Lizzy scratched madly for dropped food in the wood shavings, they still haven't figured out how to use the feeder on their own.

Monday she wandered with the others and considered the possibility of making a nest on Miss A's car.

This morning she focused on the nesting boxes, as I prepared to leave for work I found Chuck had joined in the search for the perfect box.
All morning they climbed in and out, booting wood shavings and training eggs in all directions. Chuck would inspect one box while Lacey dug around in another, sometimes they squeezed in together. Chuck emerged at some point eating a spider web.

Miss A phoned me
'Guess what I've got!'
and I knew, 'She's laid an egg?'
'Yes!'
Chuck had gone to the water tank to announce what was happening to the neighbours roosters
Lacey puffed out in the coop , shattered, having a little nap. A perfect little hard shelled egg in the nesting box, light brown and splattered with white speckles.