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 Susie
Have you tried Vermex? www.verm-x.com
I use it as a preventitive. If a hen has a bad infestation of worms I think it best to use Flubenvet to get rid of them and then use the Verm-x regularly once you know the birds are worm free, to prevent reinfestation and to keep the gut healthy.
Celia 🙂
Hi, does anyone have a natural remedy for worms. i dont want to feed my hens chemicals. My goats may be pregnant and i would like to use it for them. would appreciate any help. thanks. Susie…..
My chickens started laying!!!! Sunday and Monday, I found 1 egg each day. Dont know which one layed it, but was way excited to find one. They turned 22 weeks on the 21st.
beth this time of year in the uk its cold its dark its damp. putting artificial lighting in now would be a complete waste of time.feed your hens on a good quality food and loads of clean water and just be patient.
HI, I dont see anything wrong with their mess. it actually looks good. it is brown with a white top. none of the birds separate themselves from the flock as they do when they are ill. I’m beginning to think its just the long molting period as the other day i had 6 eggs. Of course it was too good to be true and its gone back to 2or 3. We have 12 hours of light in the winter so i dont think thats a problem. I think I will get some Leghorns around February as they are supposed to be the best egg layers here in the States. Just want to say again this is a terrific site and I will keep in touch. Susie from Central Florida USA….
Following on from my post on 18th Nov, I thought I would stop by again and let you all know that Poppy (my Brown Leghorn) has done me proud and produced her first egg. It was there waiting for me this morning… I’m so pleased!
Thank you fn for replying to my post. It filled me with reassurance so thank you x
Does anyone know, if the shorter day length has caused the birds to stop laying, can an immediate artificial light create the change, or did the light need to be introduced weeks ago when the natural daylight first began to reduce?
hi susie first of all have you seen worms in there mess. if so you need to get some worming syrup either from your vets of from a animal feed store you put so much in there drinking water for a couple of week till its disapeared . if you dont it will spread to your flock and they will over a few months die.
Hi all,, just found this website. my hens havent layed since the storms in August. They went into molt right after that and now it is the shorter days.I live in central florida so winter isnt very cold. We are complaining now at 40 degrees. I have learned alot from all the good information from all on this site. I have 19 hens and a rooster. all but 4 of the hens are americaunas, the other four are buff oglethorpes. the 4 are better layers and i got 1 or 2 a day from them all through it.I will get 5 white leghorns in february so i can have a nice variety. Does anyone have information on natural ways to deworm. I dont want to give my hens chemicals as i feed them laying pellets and they are free range. They go in the hen house at night. Thanks for any information and thanks for a very good website. Susie
Hi Jane
Lucky you! I think that egg laying in November seems to depend on when the chicks were hatched and the breed. I think that we’ll think about raising some Warrens and Leghorns next year!
Hi Rachael
You are doing all the right things. Your Silkie is not a ‘laying breed’. Your Leghorn was probably just too young to mature before the days shortened.
Expect your Leghorn to start laying in January. After the shortest day (December 21st in the Northern Hemisphere), hens suddenly start to get into egg laying gear.