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 Abbie
My hens have not started laying yet this year. It is always a bit dissapointing to find no eggs day after day.
They will lay eventually, you just have to be patient.
I have had chickens since mid Sept last year. They were immature when I got them. They have two nesting boxes lined withclean chopped straw. they are allowed to roam outside throughout the day. i have checked under all of my shrubs adn bushes, no eggs. Do you think that they will lay soon? Perhaps I should get an artificial egg to tempt them?
Hi Elizabeth
If you allow your hens access to the nesting box and provide some tempting bedding for the nests they might be tempted to start laying. I got so desperate the first year that I bought some china eggs to encourage them!
Like the idea of the cd, I must try that in my run. Our hens like lying on the day centre roof in the summer and also like jumping to peck at a cabbage on a string.
Hi, I have two lovely bantams, Margo a speckled sussex, and Barbara a buff Plymouth Rock. When we bought them, we were advised to block off the nesting area until they were old enough to lay, so that they wouldn’t get used to sleeping (and pooing!) in there. They are just about old enough to lay now and I was wondering if I should give them access to the nest and some bedding, or wait for our first egg? Will the nest encourage them to lay? I realise I sound very impatient and they are pets really – it’s just very exciting!
Also, has anyone got any good ideas for making their run more interesting? We let them out when we are around to keep an eye on them, but during the working week they are in the run for a long time – especially at this time of year so I’d like to do some habitat improvement! I have tied a cd up which they like to look and peck at – any other suggestions?
Thanks!
Hi Elizabeth,
Our nesting box is bolted onto the outside of the hen house with the entrance from inside the house. The lid is a flap so it™s easy to collect the eggs. Make your nesting boxes tempting and line them with hay (I put the chipped wood and sawdust under the nests to make cleaning easier.
A friend of mine has old wooden wine boxes bolted to the walls of her hen barn. The hens lay happily in these.
The new hen wouldn™t have put the other hen off lay. It™s just that your hens are not ready to lay yet. You have to be patient.
Hens being broody can be a nightmare unless you want to raise more chicks we have an article on this here https://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=25
It might be worth investing in a good poultry keeping book as they are usually packed with ideas on how to keep your hens happy and healthy.
Hi FN & Sharon,
They have a house with a long perch but the sunlight does not hit them directly in the face but we didnt know about the nesting box’s so right now they dont have one (need to get building those) how many box’s would we need? we have 2 hen’s and a rooster, he has learnt the wake up call hehehe in the past 3 weeks! We have not been using thick layers of bedding, a very little bit of hay so far.
When we got the 3, We later found out that there were 2 roosters so we had to rehome one and get another hen, could this cause them not to lay? she seems to have been accepted now.
They havent layed out in the garden because someone is always with them. Usually they spent ages stamping there feet on the floor and eating (very cute) I call that the ‘Running man dance’!!!
Two question’s, how can I determine what breed they are? have looked everywhere on the net and cant pinpoint mine? and also, what does ‘brooding’ mean?
Hi Angel
It’s still quite early in the year for your hens to be laying. Most hen houses have a nesting box (often bolted on the side). A quiet, dark area that encourages hen’s to lay. There is a perch in the main part of out hen house were hens like to perch and roost for the night. Where do your hens sleep? Do they have a hen house in their pen?
I use wood shavings in the house and hay in the nesting box (for the nests).
They should start laying soon as the days are now getting longer. They could already be laying somewhere in the garden!
Hi Sharon,
Oue hens are not laying yet. They usually start again around this time of year. I can’t wait for the first egg of the year.
Hi, I also have three birds that are not laying. My orpington stopped laying around september!! I hatched two wyancottes in august so I am hoping that they will start laying pretty soon. There is nothing nicer than collecting fresh eggs – I seem to have been buying mine from the supermarket for ages!!
Sorry forgot to include the reason for my post hehehe, they are not laying anything? havent a the ‘Fist Egg’ yet?
Hi all,
We thank God live in a house with a very very large outdoor area and around 2 months ago we got 2 chickens and a rooster (they werent little yellow one’s but still young), just for pets but would love them to lay eggs because i think its such a lovely thing! We are comlete beginners but have learnt alot. The weather is quite cold now but completely sunny every day but they still havent layed? They get to roam outside there pen every day and there feed is very rich in vitamins etc. Forgive me for maybe asking silly questions but I need to learn these things, I read about a box? a nesting box? Are these box’s a must? and also what is the best bedding? or do they need bedding? again a complete beginner, help much appreciated. Any pointer’s, tip’s etc welcomed!
ANGEL :o)