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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Hi susan so sorry to hear about tornado, hope everything works out okay and thanks so much for your advice, much appreciated.
Hellow fn thanks for your response you’ve been most helpful In your advice so far. I also give my chickens some vegetable scraps and they do love It. Try giving them rice ours just go mad for It and sometimes they even try to fly and jump up to get it out of the sive before Ive put the rice on the ground and amazingly they finish It within several minutes, so try It and get back to me and tell me what your chickens thought of It.
Ill also use this site regurarly for any more help and Ill definitely contact you and susan when my chickens lay any eggs.
Thanks again to you both.
Hi Susan
How sad that Tornado got out and that you are down to one hen. I do hope that you find a new friend for Buttercup soon.
Hi Emma
It depends on loads of variables. When they hatched and the seasons.
Carol hatched on April 23 and we got our first egg in January the next year. If she had hatched in January we probably would have got her first egg by the end of the summer. Hens and their laying patterns are affected by the length of day light hours – low point being December 21st.
A hen will start laying any time after 6 months – I always reckon on 8 months so as not to be disappointed.
At what age do chickens start laying eggs?
FN
I just want to say thank you for your advice on every thing I live in the united states in washington. I am down to one chicken now my Tornado had gotten out and our dogs got her while we were gone. I am sad about that.
Lee
be patient like I was when I first got mine it took about 3 weeks before they started to lay eggs. Hope that helps and just be patient with them.
Hello Lee
I’m so pleased that your chickens are bonding with you. Our flock give me immeasurable joy.
Your hens will lay and that first egg will be so sweet – well worth the wait.
I’d be really interested to hear how you get on in the future.
Hello Jonathan
I’m no expert but gradually I’ve learnt a bit about chickens and totally empathise with the initial frustrations ie I’ve just bought 6 hens, why aren’t they laying six eggs a day?!
Wehad to switch to mash for a bit last winter when we couldn’t get the pellets and the chickens hated it – I reckon that they’re creatures of habit.
Hi Lee
We give our flock vegetable scraps and they love it. Must try them on brown rice – humans can live on a diet of just this so it must contain loads of nutrients.
Hi niece to here from you jonathan you seem to know your stuff and well done on your your first full egg house. Thanks for confirming the laying date, I think we got ours In April SO Ill just be patient. By the way what Is this mash exactly and where do you get It?. And just on the point of food have you tried giving your chickens boiled unsalted white or brown rice because ours just love It, and Its so good for them as long as you don’t overfeed them so give It a try and see what your hens think.
Hi Lee, I bought four Black Rocks back in late May which were advertised as point of lay – something of an optimistic call for seventeen weeks! Three eggs appeared on the same day on the ninth of July and our first four egg full-house was yesterday. They are little bigger than bantam eggs to start wth, but as the girls settle into their rhythms, I’m sure they’ll get larger.
So just to confirm what the very knowledgeable Fn has said, I reckon 24-25 weeks looks about right.
Incidentally, I feed them layers mash rather than pellets as it takes them longer to fill their crops and keeps them happily occupied for longer.
You can also see what you’ve got; the binding agent in pellets is form of clay and I can’t help wondering if it conceals the floor sweepings sometimes! Probably libellous and I’m sure you can trust the reliable millers but the mash goes down well so I’ll stick with it.
Hellow Fn thanks for the advice, very much appreciated Ill just continue to bond with my hens regularly and wait patiently. My hens are beginning to have a very strong bond with me as every morning when I go out to the pen the whole flock rushes over to greet me although each have there own personality’s. If I have any problems Ill put them on this site and someone will help me,Its a great site and has huge amounts of info.
Ps Ill definitely get back In touch when they lay.
Hi Susan
Sorry to take so long to get back to you. Lee has given you good advice but it depends where you are living in the world. If you are based in the UK your chickens will generally moult in the late autumn when they go off lay. If you are in the UK and your hen is losing breast feathers now she may be preparing to go broody and is thinking that her softest feathers could line a nest for her chicks. This is instinctive behaviour – you can do nothing about it. Just make sure that she is comfortable and well cared for. She may do this and not go broody but this behaviour could be part of the broody routine.
Hello Lee
Your hens are just too young to lay eggs as yet. You are doing nothing wrong. You just need to relax a bit around the hens. They will pick up on your frustration.
When they are mature they’ll lay eggs (we have waited 8-12 months for hens to start laying). Meanwhile, enjoy and bond with your hens and read the comments on this post, they have taught me loads.
Thanks for advising Susan, much appreciated.
Hi Susan Your more than welcome , I know exactly how you feel, I’m also new to this but I care for my chickens deeply. I have three, sheila Linda and Daisy all of which I care for. Unfortunately none have even laid yet. By the way what breed of chickens do you own and do you have any idea or advice on why mine aren’t laying yet as its becoming very frustrating.