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 Shar
This is a good question. Our dormitory is upstairs and pretty draught free so I don’t use a heat lamp in the winter.
But if your house is an ark type one your hens may appreciate a heat lamp.
Hello John
The eggs will get bigger as the hens grow and develop.
Hi Susie
Thanks, as ever, for your advice.
Hi John in Melbourne, Is that Florida or Australia? Anyway, the eggs will get larger as the hens mature. The young hens are known as pullets and the small eggs are called pullet eggs. In a month or so they will be medium to large and all will end up large and remain that way as long as they lay. Only the small bantams eggs stay small. Hope that helps. Susie
Both my hens are now laying!!
The eggs are pretty small..
Is that normal for first time layers?
Will the eggs become bigger as they keep laying or will the eggs remain small in size?
I’m a new subscriber and found the blog really helpful.
I have 4 hybrids I bought POL at Easter. Until a few weeks ago they were laying really well but have really slowed down now. Some days we only get 1 egg. They seem happy and healthy and eat well on layers pellets and corn. I think one light brown Sussex went throu’ a stage of moulting and had a bare bottom and legs and looked very scruffy but seems to be picking up now.
The nights are drawing in now and they go to bed around 7.45pm, I’m not sure if I need to put a heat lamp in the house when the weather gets really cold. They are in a 5×4 and fairly sheltered. Any advice please.
Hi John
I’ve never experienced an egg bound hen but there’s lots of advice here on the Omlet site
http://club.omlet.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=31430
Hi everyone
can anyone tell the symptons on a hen being eggbound and what to do to help her,
Thank John
Hi John
That’s great news. The first egg is so special.
Further to my comments earlier, I put my two girls onto layer pellets (which I would grind into a powder) since the last one week.
I gave them nothing else to eat and after a couple of days they started eating the powdered pellets.
Yesterday I got my first egg..I am so excited.
Thank you fn for your comments which really helped me..awesome..
Thanks Penny and Susie for your help!
Hi Rhayfen, Sounds like your chickens are moulting. Look for a few feathers and if they are around they probably are. They loose the tail and neck feathers and stop laying while they moult. You just have to wait it out. It’s natural and they will start laying when they are ready. They usually look messy when they moult. Hope this helps.