First Egg Calculator
Tells you when your pullets should lay their first egg, based on their breed and hatch date.
- First egg window
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- pick a hatch date to see your timeline
The short answer by breed type
Most chickens lay their first egg at 18–24 weeks. The production breeds start earliest —Leghorn, ISA Brown, Golden Comet can all start by 18 weeks. The heavyweights and ornamentals take longest: Cochin, Silkie commonly wait 24 weeks or more, with Silkies sometimes stretching past 8 months. A Rhode Island Red hatched March 1st should lay around mid-July to mid-August.
How this calculation works
The calculator adds your breed's typical age-at-first-egg range to your chicks' hatch date. The ranges come from published hatchery and breed-club figures for each of the 30 breeds — no university extension maintains a per-breed table, but the pattern is extension-confirmed: breeds selected for egg production mature fastest (16–18 weeks), dual-purpose breeds in the middle (18–24), and heavy or ornamental breeds last (24+).
Treat the window as a forecast, not a promise. Individual birds vary by a few weeks within a breed, and daylight is the big variable the calendar hides: laying is triggered partly by day length, so a pullet who reaches laying age in November often waits for the lengthening days of late winter regardless of what the math says. Spring-hatched chicks hit their window in long summer days and usually run on schedule; fall-hatched chicks routinely run late.
The calculator also shows each breed's egg color and rough annual production, because the two trade off: the 300-egg ISA Brown starts at 16 weeks, while the dark-chocolate-egg Marans makes you wait 22–26 weeks for 150–200 eggs a year. Neither is wrong — they're different chickens for different keepers.
A worked example
Say you pick up Buff Orpington chicks hatched April 1st. Orpingtons typically start at 20–24 weeks, so the calculator gives a first-egg window of August 19 – September 16. Around week 18 (early August), switch the flock from grower to layer feed and open the nesting boxes. When the pullets' combs redden and they start squatting when you reach for them, eggs are one to two weeks out. If mid-September passes with no egg, check the usual suspects — hidden outdoor nests first — before worrying; late September days are still long enough that daylight isn't the problem yet.
First eggs will be small, sometimes shell-less, occasionally double-yolked. All normal, all edible, and all sorted out within a few weeks as the hen's system settles into rhythm.
First-egg timing by breed
Jump straight to your breed:
Frequently asked questions
- At what age do chickens start laying eggs?
- Most breeds lay their first egg between 18 and 24 weeks (4.5–6 months). Production breeds like Leghorns and ISA Browns start earliest at 16–18 weeks; dual-purpose breeds like Rhode Island Reds and Australorps run 18–24 weeks; heavy and ornamental breeds like Brahmas and Silkies can take 6–9 months.
- What are the signs a pullet is about to lay?
- Her comb and wattles turn from pink to bright red, she starts investigating the nesting boxes, and she’ll drop into a submissive squat when you reach toward her. The squat is the most reliable tell — first eggs usually arrive within a week or two of it starting.
- Why hasn’t my hen started laying on schedule?
- Daylight is the usual reason. Pullets that reach laying age in late fall often wait for the days to lengthen in spring, since laying is triggered partly by light exposure (14+ hours is ideal). Stress, moves, molting, parasites, and low-protein feed also delay the first egg.
- Do first eggs look different?
- Yes — expect small "pullet eggs," occasional soft shells, double yolks, or odd shapes for the first few weeks while the hen’s reproductive system calibrates. They’re perfectly edible. Size and consistency settle down within a month or so.
- Should I switch feed before the first egg?
- Switch from grower to layer feed at about 18 weeks or when the first egg appears, whichever comes first. Layer feed carries the extra calcium shells demand; feeding it too early can stress young kidneys, and feeding grower too long produces thin shells. Offer oyster shell free-choice either way.