How many eggs does a chicken lay each year?
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Chickens | 61 comments
This desperate string of words comes up a lot on search terms that have led people to our site, particularly at this time of year.
People buy pullets in the summer and expect an egg a day from all of them, immediately. We made the same mistake. Our first six months of keeping hens was just husbandry without the egg tithes. We couldn’t understand it. They had a big run, good food, fresh water every day. They also had The Ritz (a hen house version) to roost in and a quiet, snug hay filled nesting box in which to relax and lay eggs. Every day, after they arrived, I checked the nesting box. I was amazed that I didn’t get repetitive strain injury, as I checked at lunchtime and in the evening as well.
We bought our first six bantams in August 2003. Not a single hen had any interest in the nesting box, it was left totally undisturbed. When I lifted the hatch and spotted the first egg in January 2004 I rushed back to the cottage and considered ringing The Times. Danny was suspicious. He examined the egg carefully and announced,
“It’s the first one. It may not be quite right. Throw it away.”
I boiled it gently and enjoyed the freshest egg that I had ever tasted.
The wait for eggs can be a long one. If you bought your hens this summer and still have no eggs you are likely not to have eggs until January. You are probably doing nothing wrong. Possibly the hens that you bought were immature. Carol hatched on April 23 2004 she laid her first egg early in January 2005. She is a Maran, a laying breed. This does not mean that she will lay 365 days a year. She came into lay in January about a month after December 21st when the days start to get longer. She lays an egg a day until the end of August. The egg laying gradually tails off to a stop around now. She is moulting a bit and will now rest until January. And why not? Even hens need holidays.
Carol is over three years old. A younger hen would probably keep on laying until October. That’s why loads of people knock the two year old hens on the head and replace them with pullets. Younger birds, when they start to lay, are more proficient in their egg laying. And their egg laying window is longer, with a higher yield throughout the egg laying season. Until now, Carol has rewarded us with an egg a day when she is in egg laying mode. Next year it could be an egg every other day.
Carol, like all our chickens, is a pet. She will live with us until the end. All our hens have stopped laying for this year apart from one four year old bantam. She is laying for England. Small, sweet eggs that are stashed in the larder and soft boiled for breakfast on days when we need the extra voompf that only an ultra fresh egg can give.
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we have 100 hens since june 2008 we got them as point of lays. we were getting up to 50 eggs per day up until 2 3 weeks ago we have had no more than 5 each day! they are free range have plenty of grass to scratch in plenty of fresh water layers pellets and mixad corn the hens will be approx 26 weeks old. can any one help please?
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Jane is busy sitting on her eggs, only coming off the nest once aday to feed/drink that we are aware of. The other girls have completely stopped laying for a week now.
Never a dull moment, watch this space for news of chicks, then probably more questions :o)
We have spoken to a few other ex chickeners – is that a word?? And have ordered a few random cross breed eggs! We look forward to having a few more chickens to add to our crop hopefully! We had also noticed a lot less eggs (6 chickens normally 4-5 a day, getting 1 – 2 a day at the moment.) Hopefully that will then pick up!
Did you get the little chick feeder thing, or does Mrs Bossy look after the chicks herself completely? Obviously we will look after them if they need it, but best prepared!
Hi Julie
Mrs Boss does all the work herself. Incidentally, she is now sitting on bantam eggs.
You need to make a decision about Jane. If she stays broody (and it can go on for months) she will adversely effect the egg laying of the entire flock. She either needs to be moved to an anti broody coop or set on fertile eggs. If it’s the latter she will probably look after the chicks herself. However, some hens just don™t take to the chicks and you may have to rear them yourself.
Hello again, and thanks for the advice so far!
Well things have sorted themsleves out with Jane, she is very very broody. She collects all the other chickens eggs and keeps them underneath her, just running out for an occasional beak of water and some food.
I was thinking of trying to get her to hatch some fertilised eggs. I read Mrs bossy was a while ago because I like the whole hen looking after chick thing and hope they would be able to be self sufficient (except having appropriate food and water and shelter of course)!
Did Mrs Bossys chicks get taken and stuck under a lightbulb theory or did Mrs Bossy do the work herself?
Hi Julie
Is she laying eggs yet? A hen generally only goes broody when she is mature and laying eggs.
I am uncertain about the black scabby bits on her comb. I’m no expert but she would only get these if she has been pecked or poked her head into something that has scraped her comb. The lost feathers on the neck are a bit worrying too. Hens do moult but usually when they are a lot older than six months.
In a flock of hens there will always be a top dog and a bottom dog. It sounds to me that Jane is the bottom of the pecking order in your brood. There’s nothing that you can do about this except give hens lots of love and attention.
Mrs Boss is bottom of our flock™s pecking order. When she goes broody and is removed to sit on eggs the next one up the pecking order scale drops down to the bottom to take her place.
Perhaps you need to get another hen to take the heat off Jane?
Hi
One of our delightful lady chickens (Jane) has been sat on her nest box for hours a day the last 2 days. She’s only about 6 months old, and is enerally very healthy, and bossy. She has had a strip of feathers missing from the side of her neck for a while now, but these seem to be regrowing and she definetely isn;t hen pecked. We figured she was being broody, although she also had some black scabby bits on the very tips of her comb, and her feet looked quite dark, although I think they were muddy! She was pecking around very happily when we took her out of the coup.Should we be worried?
Hi Sarah
Sometimes hens just take a break or she could be going broody. Is she spending hours in the nesting box?
They may have mites – a real problem in hot weather. It would be worth spraying the house and dusting the chickens.
I have two black australorps who are sisters and eight months old, they have free range of aprox 20ft – 15ft at the top of my garden and a hen house for roosting at night – they have been laying quite regulary since they arrived (about 6-8 eggs a week between the both of them) but now one has stopped laying – they both seem well and not off their food and I wondered if it is normal for them to have a little break?
Since having our chicken our family have come to appriciate what interesting animals they are!!
Hello Tina
Each of your hens is different. Their egg laying patterns will be different too. They will take quite a few weeks to settle into their new surroundings and this will put them off lay for a bit.
Most commercial producers knock hens on the head at two years old as they are ‘past their prime.’
However they will still lay although it will be a bit more haphazard than ‘normal’.
You’ve bought older hens. Give them loads of love, good quality feed, fresh water every day and you may be surprised at their output.
14 hens does not mean 14 eggs a day, ever.