The Cottage Smallholder


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How many eggs does a chicken lay each week?

three eggs in a basket“How come there were only four eggs in the basket this morning?'”
Danny asked when he brought in my breakfast tray.
Admittedly I had given John Coe four when he came to mow the lawn this week, but only eight in a week! Danny was concerned, “What are we going to do about our fry ups?”

Danny’s mother kept chickens when he was a child and as a Poultry Instructor, passed on her knowledge. Despite this both of us were a bit naive when it came to keeping chickens ourselves. Just before we collected our chickens three years ago, I bought a pretty little basket in a sale in Newmarket. We planned to buy six hens and I assumed that I’d collect six eggs a day. That basket gathered dust whilst we waited for the first egg.

We bought hens on ‘point of lay’ and threw a party to celebrate their arrival. The guests peered through the gloom at the hens and discussed how to deal with an egg glut. After the party we decided to ask our chicken feed supplier for advice. As we had zero eggs, we must be doing something wrong.

‘Try these,’ he said, producing a box of china eggs with a flourish. ˜The hens will take a peek at them and it will give them the idea.’ I hurried home, opened the nesting box and made plump tempting nests of sweet smelling hay to hold the china eggs.

The chickens seemed happy enough. I observed them having dust baths, sunbathing on the warm roof of their ‘day centre’ and running for a handful of grain in the afternoon. Every day I peeped into the immaculate but egg-free nesting box and trudged back to the house, disappointed. Summer turned to Autumn and then to Winter. ‘Hens go off lay in the Winter, so don’t expect any eggs until the Spring,’ a kind friend advised. I could have hit her.

We were away over New Year and when we got back, there were only five chickens in the pen. I opened the hen house door and there was the sixth hen, absorbed in her task. She barely noticed me as she was clearly straining. I rushed back to the house to tell Danny the breaking news. We crept down to the hen house an hour later and saw our first egg lying resplendent in a clutch of white china fakes.

Tricks and Tips:

  • Chickens are at their egg laying prime for the first two years. After this, their egg laying decreases as they get older. Serious egg producers replace their hens after two years.
  • Chickens are seasonal layers. When daylight hours are short their laying decreases. Laying gradually builds up from January and starts to decrease from mid September.
  • Before you get your first chickens decide whether they are going to be layers or pets, or a mix. If you are going to replace them after a couple of years, don’t give them names. Danny named each of our chickens when they arrived (we got a mix). Need I say more?

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176 Comments

  1. Marihel

    Can only echo Emma about what a useful friendly site this is. I’ve been keeping hens for 3 years. Started with 6 hybrids (Speckledies and Columbines). We were swamped with eggs for the first 18 months, often 7 a day, with Mavis at the top of the pecking order and poor Susan very much at the bottom. Three died at different times in the last 6 months – took two of them to the local vet when they were poorly. One unknown causes, one probably to do with egg production process and one to do with liver. In my view this is probably to do with breeding of hybrids. I have 2 eggs most days from remaining 3. (Btw vet treatment of hens v much cheaper than cats and dogs, and indeed rabbits). Anyway I am about to get some Faverolles!

  2. EMMA BAYLEY

    hi!……what a lovely site this is,so friendly and informative!…..i would just like to introduce myself and my featherd girls to this group………i own two hybrid p.o.l 20week old hens who are afectionaly named tikka & korma (never to be turned into curry!)……….waiting for the first egg!! i can fogive the missing apples (tikka clambs up my apple tree! must take a photo!).and my waking up at stupid 0clock just to see if girls are warm in thier new housing!.i hope your ladies are have the fun mine are!!.take care! emma,tikka and korma……..

  3. Debbra

    I have found this to be very informative as I have invested in 6 new 22 week old warrens, as last years stock was lost to nasty Mr Fox.
    The questions I needed answers to where on the stream and I am grateful for the help. Happy chickens!

  4. Thank you for a very informative web site. We had chickens as children, and tommorow we are picking up 2 chucks for our own children. Can’t wait for the thrill of them finding the first egg-especially with Easter on the way!

  5. how loug dose it take a hen to lay a eggs and one more thing y do they like soft paces

    • Fiona Nevile

      Hi Bobby

      A hen usually starts laying eggs when she is over six months old. But sometimes she can take longer to get going depending on the time of year that she was hatched.

      Hens like to lay eggs in a warm darkish place – most of our hens lay in the nesting box of our chicken house.

  6. Fiona Nevile

    Hi Greg

    This all depends on the time of year that they were hatched and whether or not they are a laying breed.

    Our first chickes were bought in August (on point of lay) and they eventually started laying in January. If they had been hatched earlier in the year they could have started laying in 6 months.

  7. Hoping you can tell me the age of the chicken at point of lay. thanx Greg.

  8. Hi Helen,
    I wouldn’t worry to much about their sleeping arrangements, it won’t do them any harm. We’ve had various hens that when young didn’t get the hang of roosting on bars. The downside is that the nest box gets pretty messy.
    What you can try is training the girls. When they go to bed, lift each one onto the roosting bars. It may take a few attempts but eventually they get the idea!
    Regarding dividing the box, I have separate boxes in one coop and all the hens queue up to use just one and the other coop has a box that was divided but is now open and the girls simply share.
    Good luck,
    Richard

  9. Hi everyone
    What interesting comments, I have learned so much!
    Can anyone answer this please? Last weekend I had 4 gorgeous chickens, a blue haze, a white sussex, a ranger and a copper black.
    We bought a huge coop and run with the chickens and had a few problems putting it together. The chickens are happily inside and have 3 ish hours every day to explore the garden, they are about 19/20 weeks so I am hoping for eggs soon. The problem is that the nest box is attached to the side of the house but is completely open, it’s just one big box so the chickens are sleeping in there at night, is that ok? There is a mark to put a division to make 2 sections but nothing was supplied. Should I divide the nest box? Should i put a front on the nest box or leave it open? I’m really confused.

    many thanks
    Helen

  10. Jules348

    Hi All,

    Just registered, as I saw this blog in a google search.

    I had my first egg yesterday, a bit soft though (looking through my Chicken Encyclopedia)read that first POL eggs maybe soft. I have 2 x Blue Belles, “Dilly and Dolly”.

    Looking forward to getting the next one.

    Jules

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