Check the comb and leg color. Gently hold your chicken and flip her over so you can see her vent. But if you’ve ruled everything else out, consider giving your hens a nudge with a few fake eggs. 3.
But you can tell a lot about a chicken from the condition of their vent and egg laying is one of them. Pullets will develop a more mature appearance, taking on the look of full-grown hens. It might also pucker while you’re down there taking a look.

Here’s how. The most obvious way to tell if hens are laying is to separate them from the rest of the flock and wait a few days. 2.

How to Tell if a Chicken is Still Laying. Vent Moisture – The vent should be moist and in a chicken that isn’t laying, she’ll have a very dry almost dusty-looking vent. 4. If you are waiting on your pullets to mature, there are several physical signs you can look for to tell if the time is coming near. If she’s laying, her vent should be moist and more white in color (and less pink-ish). This will be less for non-layers. This is her “butt ... Next, feel for her keel bone. They’ll be very alert and have wide eyes. Personality.

When egg production is down, I put a hen in each crate with food and water for up to three days. Physical Signs of Readiness.

Check her vent, keel bone, and abdomen. Keel to Vent Distance – The keel is the where the breastbone ends, at the back of the chicken. If your chickens haven’t started laying, and she’s well past the point of maturity, it could be due to illness.

A productive layer will look alive!


If your hens are looking a little lazy or listless, then they’re probably not the ones putting in the hard yards. Their abdomen will be about 3 fingers in width.

If you feel around an egg laying chickens breastbone, it should be quite large - around 4 fingers in width. Fake Eggs. How To Encourage Laying

I keep two large dog crates for this purpose.

Normally the distance between the end of the keel & the vent should be about 2 fingers.

At least you can get some clues. Watch for egg-laying behavior.

These are usually ceramic eggs that you can find in ag stores or online.