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.
Leave a reply
Hi we have 3 black rocks that 9 months old and they have just started laying and we get between 2, sometimes 3 eggs per day!!
Dear fn
Just to let you know I had my first eggs this morning. It was funny how excited I was about it. They were very vocal about it LOL
KAR
Hi Fiona,
We have 5 hens- 3 Warrens and 2 Light Sussex kept in a large run. One of the Light Sussex has always been small in comparison to the other.They are all nearly 2 years old. The small Light Sussex has been plucking chest feathers most of the summer but now it is far worse and she has a totally bare chest. She has also plucked out feathers from her wings and tail. We have checked her for mites and lice but she seems fine. She is eating well and is not at the bottom of the pecking order, although we did have to treat her for sour crop a few weeks ago. She is laying. Should she have finished a moult by now? Why is this happening? Any advice would be appreciated.
Regards,
Jane S
Hi KAR
If she was a cockerel she’d also be jumping on the hens by now.
Thanks fn,
I was pretty sure she was a hen, I was just being misled by self professed chicken experts!. It would have been terrible to have say goodbye 🙁
Thanks again.
Hi Kar
Yes you are right with point one. I expect that they will come into lay a few weeks after the shortest day (21st December).
I put my grit and oyster shells in the run as they like to scratch for it.
You can buy a wormer from pets at home online. I do mine every six months or so.
If the ‘cockerel’ looks the same as a hen she’s a hen 🙂
Hi everyone
Great site with lots of information. I have tried to get the gist of everything but so much to read. If anyone could help me with a summary of the following that would be great.
2) I have 3 Rhode Island Reds – which we got at 8 weeks old in June (I think they are around 7/10 months old now) They havnt laid any eggs yet – Am I right in saying that it may be due to the shorter days and that they were too young when it started to get darker early. SO I just have to be patient and it may be next year before we get any eggs?
They get lots of exercise time and have a big run so they should be happy as larry. I love my girls but by husband is getting a little impatient.
2) Should I be worming by hens?
3) Should I put their grit sepearate to their food as at the moment it is mixed in with their
feed.
4) I have been told that one of them is a cockeril but I dont think she is. She should have a spur by now and her feathers are the same round shape as the other 2. It this right?
Thanks everyone
as hen’s begin to start laying, their first eggs are often strange shapes and almost always small. They gradually settle themselves in and get used to the knack of laying and soon they produce beautiful eggs with wonderful yellow yolks.
I always add grit to their daily feed as I found they didn’t bother with it when I kept it in a separet bowl in the run.
My hens are on layers pellets, bowlful of corn. For elevenes and supper they have a mixed salad.
I have since found out that we have a Red Spider infestation….this isn’t nice for either the hens or me(when I’m cleaning out). I suspect this is the reason my hens have slowed down in laying and have bare bottoms!(I was also told the bare bottoms is due to pressure when laying eggs).
I have spent two weekends scrubbing the house out and applying the recommeded solution and I’ll do it again next week. I’m not sure if they’ve gone because red spider mite is TINY. I clean the hen house out once a week, is it worth treating it every time to keep on top of infestation?
Anyone else got this problem.?
one of my hens over the lsat few days seems to be doing the same she is making sure alot of noise then settleing in the coup for about 3 hours still making noise but then just makes nest the others stay away from her but nothing seems to appear in the nest any suggestions please bye the way she did produce what looked like a boiled egg with no shell first time but was all gundge inside they have grit and plenty of food any help please.