how long ?

[mell]

we have had our point of lay hens for a week now bless them,
how long roughly until they are settled and start laying do you think ?
thanks

[MissEllie]

It can vary quite a bit, my first 2 point of lay hens took 6 weeks before they started but I think they were probably younger than the breeder said so don't worry too much.

[Sandra M]

How old are they? They are called point of lay from 16 weeks when they go onto layers pellets so could be a few weeks.

[Mo]

What do their combs look like? Are they pink and tiny? Then they are more than 4 weeks away from laying. Starting to get bigger? 4 weeks or less. Almost as big as laying hens? Any day now.
Some of us have noticed that hens that are coming up to laying may crouch when you come near (as if you were the rooster).

[mell]

they are 17 weeks now and starting to crouch when i stroke them now and again,
combs are starting to colour up a bit now

[pepi]

I think the size and redness of the Comb, combined with whether they 'crouch' is the best indicator of a laying hen! Hope they start laying soon - nothing like the excitement of that first egg