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 Stuart
The Cottage Smallholder lives in the UK. East Anglia, so relatively warm.
I have no idea where you live in the UK as we have no poultry vets around here and no chicks /young birds are vaccinated when you buy them. Do you live in an area that has had reportable disease? I‘m curious. Generally chickens are not treated by local vets around here so a search on Yellow Pages draws a blank.
Thank you so much for your help with questions. Much appreciated.
BTW how much do you charge for a box of 6 fertilised eggs from your Warrens? 18 hens and 16-18 eggs a day with no artificial light? These wonder hens would be appreciated here!
Hi Jean B
Our hens love the treat food (mixed wild bird seed) that I scatter in the morning. But Stuart is right they need grower or (later) layers pellets. These will be available in your country. They have all the nutrition that your flock needs. Look on the internet for feed suppliers and also advertise (again your vet’s boards etc). There may be other chicken keepers locally and you can buy feed cooperatively- much cheaper and greener.
Re culling you cockerels. Advertise at your vet/feed store/ local shop for a swap. If you offer X cockerels as a swap – take them but give me back half of them prepared for the table – I bet you will be inundated with replies. We don’t shoot but hang and dress game for a 50/50 swap. It works well. We have a good supply of game and the hunters don’t have the bother of preparing the carcasses. Think around the box!
Really pleased that you are enjoying my site. You have loads of sense! You are looking around for advice and that’s what it’s all about but I would recommend that you buy a good chicken rearing book. Great to refer to when everyone is asleep! As you say every one who keeps chickens has different ideas.
Hi Matt
You need to find a good laying breed and a breeding line that is good as well.
Don’t rush in. My best advice is to take an afternoon researching this in the spring. Just buying ‘A good breed’ will not necessarily give you good layers. Out of the 4 hens with ‘broody tendency’ we have discovered that only one has this nature. Chickens are far more complex than we humans think.
In minnesota and wisconsin winters, do 6 month old hens continue to lay an average of one a day or do they reduce production do to cold and less sunlight?
Our’s just started laying eggs two weeks ago. We have 9 hens and 4 roosters and are presently getting 3 to 4 eggs a day.
Stuart,
Thanks alot we will defenitly consider those breeds when we choose some new chicks next spring. we were already considering getting the white leg horn but we will try those other breeds.
Thanks again for the advice. good luck with your chickens.
Matt
Hi Stu,
I’m in Western NC, USA, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and have been getting all my chicken education via the internet and the local feed and seed store. The people at the feed and seed keep telling me to keep them on the Purina Start & Grow but that doesn’t feel right to me. You mentioned “layer pellets”. I probably can’t get the brand name you use due to geography but can you tell me what’s in them so I can get a similar product here across the pond. One thing I’ve learned about chickens is that everybody has a different opinion. I’ve been collecting an opinion to achieve a consensus. sort of like chicken politics. 🙂 Anyway, I appreciate your site. On one I was referred to as a fruit and on another a very unfriendly type told me I didn’t have any sense. Hmmmmm. Wonder if that’s a consensus. Thanks again Stuart. 🙂
jean b as i wrote a few week ago.hens love wheat but its not enough for them.what i do with my 18 pullets is.in a morning there food hoper is empty.i put about one and half kilo of layers pellets in they go mad at them while theyre eating them i go and feed the other 100 or so older hens after about 1 hour i go back and put 1 kilo of wheat in when thats gone there crops are nearly full then they go out on the grass and peck about and im getting 16 to 18 eggs a day and in england its very very cold.also the trouble with breeding its unfortunate that you have to cull your cockerals but you must.i just put my thumb at the back of its neck press hard and pull back.its quick.im afraid these are the things you must do.
matt the white leghorn is no doubt the best laying hen in the world and its american bred.but english people prefere a brown egg i dont no why but they do.light sussex is one of the tamest breeds i have 6 .but on the other hand i have 18 warrens origanly crossed from whiteleghorn they are kept seperate from my other hens and they are actually to tame. they even sit on my shoulder.theyre 9 month old i also dont have artifisully lighting and they still lay between 16 and 18 eggs every day with out fail.
Hi, i live in pa. My family and i got our first chickens this past May. we have…
2 black sex links ( one of which is giving us eggs about every other day.)
1 austrolorp
1 araucana
4 bantams ( 3 of which are roosters)
and 3 barred rocks.
next spring we are planning on getting a few more chicks. we want to try some different breeds that are efficient layers and also good pets. do you have any suggestions on what breeds to get?
thanks, Matt from the u.s.a.
My Buckeyes are five months old now. Started with 25 and have 18 at this time. At least five roosters. Mine are not pets and I look forward to eggs. They live in an unheated coop outside and are free range during the day. From what I read they won’t lay until six or more months old. These are multi-use birds and I plan to add Plymouth Bar Rock in the Spring. I’ve been feeding a diet of Purina Start and Grow medicated and they are off their feed. Seem to prefer the scratch (wheat and corn) I throw out for a treat. I need to cull the roosters, right? Any input except cynical or smart aleck is welcome. I appreciate you. 🙂
fn i dont no were you live but in england its very cold everywere.heather if you have a heat lamp use it.as for laying if your hens are hybreds they will start laying at 19 or 20 week old especially if you have heat on.let me no what your pullets are i will tell you when they should lay.
Hi Heather
The birds shouldn’t need a heat lamp unless you live somewhere very cold indeed.
They are still too young to lay.