How many eggs does a chicken lay each week?
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Chickens | 176 comments
“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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how do i know what is bad for my rhode island reds and banny chickens?
I have a hen who is occasionally laying 2 eggs per day. I have 4 hens but sometimes get 5 eggs. I also know which eggs belong to which chicken, they are different colours shapes etc. Anyone else ever heard of this happening?
thanks once again for replying so quickly we now have 2 warrens a speckled hen and a white leg horn. they are all good together its just our dog and its a greyhound so a bit of a problem we cant let it out in the garden often now because it runes strait to the chicken house and then barks is there any ways you can get dogs away.
thanktyou
Hi Harry
My experience of hens is fairly limited. We have bantam breeds generally although we raised a Maran hen from an egg. She’s six years old now and still giving us an egg most days, although she has a rest in the winter.
The chickens need a run built with strong wire netting to be safe from fox attacks. Our run also has a roof made of wire. This is expensive to buy but will last for years.
thankyou for replying so quickly, is there any cheap methods of keeping foxes away and is there any other really good egg layers you know of that arnt to expensive.
Hi Harry
Warrens are good layers when they reach POL expect an egg each day from all four.
POL can be disappointing. We bough 6 POL hens and waited six months for an egg, Don’t be impatient with your flock if this happens just ring your supplier and complain.
Yes scatter the shavings everywhere. They are excellent for absorbing nasties and make chicken house cleaning a doddle.
hello,
we are getting four chickens tommorow weve got the food and all the equitment and all we need now is the chickens does anyone know approx how many eggs warren chickens lay a year on point of lay and our coop has got a metal cleaning tray underneath the perches and we are wondering if we should put soft wood shavings there as well as the nesting box.
thankyou
Hi Lari
Hope that the suggestions work for you.
Hi Everyone,
Wow!!! I had no idea fox could climb. However its been 3 days since the last slaying so whatever it is, is probably getting hungry.We wake up every morning and check the traps.(almost like Christmas :))So I called animal control they told me something scary there bobcats in my area. What do you think about that? I would think if it was a bobcat it would have killed them all, right?
My girls and I strung wire like you said and put bitty wire under the grapevine. We built the pen around a grapevine.We will see what happens.
All of you are awsome thank you so much! 🙂
Hi Lari
What a shame that some of your chickens have been killed. I agree with Compostinaway you would be best to cover the pen. The other answer is to string wire at a forty five degree angle (on braced wood) just above the top of your netting -this stops foxes etc climbing up.
Our hens tend to all want to lay in the same place too this is normal.
Hello Compostinaway
Thanks for your advice.
Hi Anne
Pekins are hens that have a tendency for broodiness rather than egg laying. They will lay eggs but expect 4 a week rather than an egg a day.
Of course some of your flock my lay more than others.
Chickens keeping is such fun.