How many eggs does a chicken lay each week?
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Chickens | 176 comments
“How come there were only four eggs in the basket this morning?'”
Danny asked when he brought in my breakfast tray.
Admittedly I had given John Coe four when he came to mow the lawn this week, but only eight in a week! Danny was concerned, “What are we going to do about our fry ups?”
Danny’s mother kept chickens when he was a child and as a Poultry Instructor, passed on her knowledge. Despite this both of us were a bit naive when it came to keeping chickens ourselves. Just before we collected our chickens three years ago, I bought a pretty little basket in a sale in Newmarket. We planned to buy six hens and I assumed that I’d collect six eggs a day. That basket gathered dust whilst we waited for the first egg.
We bought hens on ‘point of lay’ and threw a party to celebrate their arrival. The guests peered through the gloom at the hens and discussed how to deal with an egg glut. After the party we decided to ask our chicken feed supplier for advice. As we had zero eggs, we must be doing something wrong.
‘Try these,’ he said, producing a box of china eggs with a flourish. ˜The hens will take a peek at them and it will give them the idea.’ I hurried home, opened the nesting box and made plump tempting nests of sweet smelling hay to hold the china eggs.
The chickens seemed happy enough. I observed them having dust baths, sunbathing on the warm roof of their ‘day centre’ and running for a handful of grain in the afternoon. Every day I peeped into the immaculate but egg-free nesting box and trudged back to the house, disappointed. Summer turned to Autumn and then to Winter. ‘Hens go off lay in the Winter, so don’t expect any eggs until the Spring,’ a kind friend advised. I could have hit her.
We were away over New Year and when we got back, there were only five chickens in the pen. I opened the hen house door and there was the sixth hen, absorbed in her task. She barely noticed me as she was clearly straining. I rushed back to the house to tell Danny the breaking news. We crept down to the hen house an hour later and saw our first egg lying resplendent in a clutch of white china fakes.
Tricks and Tips:
- Chickens are at their egg laying prime for the first two years. After this, their egg laying decreases as they get older. Serious egg producers replace their hens after two years.
- Chickens are seasonal layers. When daylight hours are short their laying decreases. Laying gradually builds up from January and starts to decrease from mid September.
- Before you get your first chickens decide whether they are going to be layers or pets, or a mix. If you are going to replace them after a couple of years, don’t give them names. Danny named each of our chickens when they arrived (we got a mix). Need I say more?
Leave a reply
We are really lucky to have mild winters so nearly all year we get an egg a day from our four Hens.
That’s good advice about not naming them. Unfortunately after a few years and the laying slows down it may be time to consider getting a new batch.
First egg yesterday, second today, delicous deep rich yellow yolks, although shells didn’t seem too fragile. Quite small though. We got our four hens approx 4 weeks ago, 2 light Sussex and 2 Blackrock. Celebration time…
Hi Steven
I sometimes put sheets of newspaper under the woodchips. This makes constricted spaces much easier to clean out.
Hi Ron
Plymouth Rocks are great layers. Lucky you having eggs all winter!
Hello Clare
Thanks for the update. Great to know that everything is going well for you.
Hello, I just wanted to let everyone who read my post in February know that the new chickens are laying well. I don’t know if it is more than one a day from the Sussex but certainly the fridge is overflowing with eggs and the girls are all getting on splendidly.
I have 4 Plymouth Rocks, just over a year old and I average 3 eggs a day. They get garden time on sunny days and like to scratch for worms. I supplement light on a timer in the early AM and they have laid all winter. One is henpecked, but a normal part of the pecking order. Everyday is an Easter egg hunt, even though they lay in the nest boxes. Grandkids can’t wait to check for eggs.
Thanks for that, I quite lke the idea they had for mixing it with maybe barley straw, and a layer of cardboard below to lift in one go when cleaning.
Hi Lari
It’s fine for the chickens to roost in the vine. But they do need some sort of shelter (a shed or chicken house) to protect them from rain and predators. Also they need a quite dark spot to lay their eggs.
As to assessing their age and breed your best bet is to look at pictures of chickens on the internet and try and match your birds to the breeds that you see. I have no idea how you can work out how old they are.
Corn and layers pellets are a good combination for feed. Also fresh water each day.
Hi Yeh
Different types of chickens lay different amounts of eggs. Looking at chicken breeder’s websites could help you.
After two years old they tend to lay less eggs.
Hi Steven
Apparently the combination of chicken poo and shredded paper can be a problem. Read about it on the Bean sprouts blog http://bean-sprouts.blogspot.com/2008/10/hen-house-cleaning.html
Hi,
Can anybody tell me if it’s ok to use shredded paper in my chickens nest box.
how do you kno how much chicken lay eggs
hello, i have rescued 6 hens and a rooster. they were in very poor living conditions. we are talking no grass mud and standing water. they appeared to be very young. i am not a chicken person, but i saw them and could not leave them there. i get home and my children and i build a chicken pen with 6 beds around a grapevine we have. i have lots of questions is the grapevine ok?how do you know how old they are?how can you tell what kind they are?do they need any special attention?we are feeding them mash,corn,cabbage,bread etc. they sleep in the grapevine is that normal? please give my girls and i some advice. thank you