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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my chicken has got a prolaplse what do I do, can it still lay eggs?
How can I encourage my new hens to use the roosting box and perches at night
Hello Snapper
You want them to use the perch in the chicken house at night. It’s not a good idea to encourage them to sleep in the nesting box as this is the main place that they will lay their eggs.
Give your house a good clean out and treat for mites each week during hot weather. If the house is attractive they will use it. Perhaps something has frightened them – is a rat visiting at night?
All our birds are in the house by dusk and then I close the door until the morning
when we bought it it was a chicken already and now we have had it for at least a month and still no eggs!!!! Is there a way of telling if it is old enough to lay eggs?
oh and dont get it in thier eyes- that wouldnt be fun for either of you 🙂
and about thier age- if they are only three weeks old they wont lay eggs for a while. They should start laying at around 24 weeks old.
Try checking the comb for bugs and you can sprinkle some cleaner powder called seven-five on them but dont let them eat it. Thats what I did and now they are lice-free.
How do you know whether or not your chicken has lice? Ithink I saw some in her feathers but im not sure how to treat them.
i got my chicken 3 weeks ago and she still has not layed an egg!!! How do I find outt whether or not she is old enough too lay. Does she have worms??? should I put A china egg in there to encourage her??????
thanks for all your help but they still arn’t laying and they are defenetly overdue for laying
Dont worry most of my hens occasionally sleep in the nesting box. They are all really good egg layers, but dont always follow the rules at first! We used to have soft eggs all over the place but they just get there in the end. Check out the omlet website forums, loads of chickeny info.
Hi if fn or anyone else can help me it would be appeciated. recently one of hens has started sleeping in her nesting box rather than on her perch, everyone says this isnt right, so why is she doing it.