When will my chickens lay eggs?
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Chickens | 661 comments
Even though I know that egg laying is unpredictable at this time of year, it’s always a bit disappointing when I lift the lid of the nesting box and there’s only one. An egg from Carol. She is firing on all cylinders now and producing one egg a day, the maximum that a domestic hen can produce.
“What’s going on with the other four chickens?” I think as I stump back through the garden in my dressing gown and wellies.
The other four chickens are elderly maidens, well into their third year. I know that after two years egg production diminishes but somehow I hoped that the organic food and beautiful adornments in the pen might make a difference. Of course they don’t. As the years roll by, the chickens will produce fewer and fewer eggs until they go to that great pecking ground in the sky.
The pretty white bantams, have never been very obliging on the egg laying front. In their prime, they probably only laid two or three eggs a week. They are not a laying strain and we knew this when we bought them. But we have discovered that they are very photogenic and are happy to model endlessly.
I’ve been checking the hen’s combs. A pink comb indicates that a chicken is going broody, and will not lay. They are all a bright vibrant red, including Mrs Boss (this chicken won The Broodiest of all Known Chickens Award 2004, 2005 and 2006).
So you can imagine my delight when I lifted the roof of the nesting box this morning and found two small eggs nestling beside Carol’s large speckled brown one. I sprang back to the kitchen to make the perfect breakfast omelette.
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Hello linda lundgren
Apologies in taking some time to get back to you. I have been checking the internet and asking around.
Faverolles – some people say that they are great all round layers (although in the winter they will not lay so well). Other people say that they are iffy layers, I reckon that it must depend on the strain of hens. Perhaps you will find hat your brood are great summer layers?
You could go down the route of introducing summer light conditions. Thy will lay eventually and regularly and they will also die young. I’m not sure how you want to raise your chickens, as you are on the other side of the globe you must have experienced the shortest day by now. Your hens, if not very elderly will start laying a few weeks after this date.
Commercial chicken producers knock all 2 year old hens on the head. If your hens are not giving you an egg a day they probably never will. As a hen gets older egg laying diminishes.
If you want regular eggs, buy young pullets. If you want an occasional egg, go for older stock that rest in the winter. It™s great to buy older stock and give them a new lease of life but you will never get the egg laying that younger stock will give you. It™s a toss up. I reckon that a good young/old mix is the most interesting flock.
Hi Chloe
My hens don’t lay in winter. They are enjoying a well deserved rest!
Hi MJargaret Boudin
Sometimes hens just go off lay. There’s no magic answer. If they are moved they often go off lay for to or three weeks. Five weeks seems excessive. Do they have their own hen house? If so, make this super attractive. Clean and tempting. Plump nests in the nesting box and a good environment. If necessary feed them in the hen house to temp them in.
I’d love to hear how this pans out.
I baught two warrens at twentyone weeks old,we have had them for five weeks,they have a nice warm coop they the dogs and cats get on well after the hens showed who was boss,they are fed on egg laying pellets,bread and are free range,they are very tame to the point of bullying us for food they love to get into the lounge so we have to sit with closed windows!!but as yet no eggs,we live in Brittany and all the farmers say they will layDo you think worming may help the birds are in very good health and came from a well known breeder in this part of Brittany please help
my chock wont lay in winter
We have 4 faverolles, which are supposed to be winter layers. Someone forgot to let ours in on that little bit of info. We have not had an egg for around 3 months. We are in Australia and mid winter. They have a seed food and a laying mash I soak with warm water in the morning (they dont like it otherwise). They run in the orchard during the day. They did lay for several months then stopped when they molted but that finished ages ago, and still no eggs. Would keeping them in their pen for a few days help? When they are out they mostly sit on the veranda waiting for scraps. The breeder we got them from assured me thay would start laying as of a couple weeks ago, but still nothing. They are supposed to be about a year and a half old but starting to have my doubts. Any hints would be appreciated.
Hi Linda
Yes I think that this is normal. We feed our flock on baby chick crumbs when they are tiny and then move onto layers pellets, although I’ve heard that grower pellets are a good idea for an interim period.
Hi
I have just purchased two welsummer chicks about 10 weeks old – I am feeding them only on Grower Pellets but their poo seem very dark brown and there is lot of it – is this normal?
Thanks
Linda
Hi Kris
Sorry I missed your comment. Our hens go crazy for wild bird seed. If I want the to go into their house I just sprinkle a little trail into the house from the run. Works like magic.
Hi Jane
I must try this with my brood! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Susan
Great news!
Thanks Jane.
Any thing is worth a try.
Buttercup and Tornado started to lay eggs again. I am getting 2 a day. I am so proud of them. thank you for all the advice. Patience is deffanitly a vertue that every one must have. THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!
Kris,ours will do anything for cooked pasta and very quickly learnt that they needed to go into their run when they see the pasta dish. It never fails!