Pacing chicken

[Chickenmom23]

We have a 23 1/2 week old easter egger that has not begun to lay yet. Our two silkies are the only ones producing at the moment. In the last two days she has been pacing incessantly in and out of the coop all day long. She keeps going into the nesting boxes then out onto perch then immediately back into the box. Yesterday she went in and sat on one of our silkies that was laying. I feel like she is wanting to lay but not sure if there is anything I can do to help her. I feel kind of bad for her she seems so restless. Any suggestions? Or does this even seem like is a laying issue or something else? Our two silkies didn’t have this behavior. They just went in the box and laid and came out. Those girls have been giving us an egg a day each for 2 full weeks

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'd leave her to her own devices.
It does sound like she's coming into lay.
I have a 4year old hen that still paces, not as much as when she first came into lay, but still carries on.
Just keep watch on her, but I do not disturb hens/pullets when they are in the process of getting ready to lay an egg or if they are laying. I don't want to add to their stress.

 

[3KillerBs]

Normal POL pullet behavior.

They get restless and seem unfocused as they work through all those unfamiliar hormones. This is the time I get the most escapes from birds flying over the fence.

 

[Chickenmom23]

Thank you! That makes me feel better that it’s normal. This is our first flock and out of the 7 only the silkies started laying so we are in new territory for sure.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Not always, but often a pullet will look for what she considers a good place to lay before she actually starts laying. There is nothing consistent with chickens, some do it, some don't. Often this is about a week before they start. Some don't even start looking for a good place for a nest until they've laid a few scattered around. They can be frustrating.

This sounds like that behavior so I think she is likely to start laying in the near future and you have an excellent chance she will lay in the nest to start with. Good luck!