When, oh when can I expect the first egg?

Chickens can begin laying eggs as early as four months of age. Please, don't hold your breath or run out to the nesting box on the very day your gal turns her ripe age of four months....you'll be disappointed.

More often than not you can expect your ladies to begin their season when they reach approximately six months of age.

With that in mind, beginning stages of egg laying for a pullet brings about a bit of hyper anxiety and a certain amount of cluckery.

By this time she’ll have a large fluffy bottom, be broad breasted and plump. There will be pacing, agitation and distraction. She can sense she’s about to do something but she’s not exactly sure when or where.

Although she may have had an opportunity to watch her flock mates spending time in the nesting box, that doesn't necessarily mean that she understands the true nature of what she is about to undergo. Think childbirth labor for the first time.