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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I’m not sure you really need to spray poweder if you’ve already removed the wasps nests?? Don’t they usually just move on if their nests are destroyed? Or are these those pesky wasps that return time and again?
I’ve found that if I destroy the nests they move to another place ( usually into my garage for somer eason!
Hi just to update you all Hetti and her chicks (now 7 wks old) all doing fine. Hetti goes out in the garden during the day with the other hens and back to chicks at night for the last week now Hetti back in coup with other hens at night and chicks on their own. Only problem is we had two wasp nests in the summerhouse with the chicks I have managed to remove the nests but should I wait to spray powder etc till the chicks have moved out or will it be safe to spray wasp killer in their. It gets really warm in there.
any advice??? i have two bantams that were laying an egg each almost every day ,until i decided i wanted some normal sized eggs, so i got two chickens. ever since that day they havnt laid a single egg. does anyome have any ideas on how to get them back to normal.
ps. they all seem to be getting on ok together.
thanks
Interesting comment that chickens can lay only a maximum of one egg a day .. perhaps our aussie “chooks” ( as we call them ) have greater talent than those in the northern hemisphere?
I have red hens. I usually get between6 and 8 eggs per day.. seems like someones’
chooks must be sneaking and laying eggs in our chook run!
I remember as a child, my Dad loved his chooks. He had one special hen. A grey speckled creature with a great personality — My dad named her “Jenny the Machine” . why ???
you wont beleive this .. but she was regularly laying up to 7 eggs per day. Spent most of her day on the nest … but she was loved by all of the family.
What was she fed ?? nothing special 0- some warm hand mixed bran and pollard of a morning ( as were all the other chooks — and some wheat at day’s end.
One of my chickens looks poorly. She has not been laying and she looks plump at the rear. Her tail is also down, and she has not got very much get up and go. Does anyone have any advice?????
Hi I have a question . my hens have been laying eggs all spring it is almost july and now they are not laying . everything is the same, Ilive in Mo. and it is very hot right now could that be the reason they are not laying ?
Hi Okellie
The heat will affect egg production any extremes of temperature will put hens off lay.
Dear FN,
I thought I may be back with another question. Out of four 20week old hens three seem to be laying normally, the fourth has laid not one but three eggs today . The shells are more like a rubber than shell. Margo seems very subdued . Could you give me any indication what could be the problem and is it normal for a new laying hen to lay so may at once ?
Kind regards Garry B
Hi everyone,
We have 5 hens, all in their third year. One hen has started to eat the eggs on a regular basis before they are collected (the nest box is checked often).Does anyone have any advice on how to stop this? Many thanks. Jane
We have recently purchased 2 leghorns only had them over a week and have had 2 eggs already, the run we have them in is only small
Thank you FN ,
You have been most helpful I have no doubt that i will call on you again.
Kindest Regards
Garry