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.
Leave a reply
Hey Fn
I dont know if you remeber me but i wrote in about my silkie that wouldnt mate the rite way around…
Well, we have seen him doing it in the rite position and my silkie bantam is laying splendidly, we have just built a wonderfull hen house for her and the other hen (average chicken, brown)and the brown one is also laying great, unfortunitly or fotunitly my hen has finaly gone broody but its the wrong hen…
my silkie layed 12 eggs and my brown layed five but my BRONWN hen is hatching them! which is fine really, i just wanted to let all the other chicken people out there that they should just let there chicken do what she does best and all will be well. =)
I have a bantam hen who has taken to sitting on a nest all day – nearly every day –no eggs under her, she just sits there and rarely leaves the next to eat.
Should I isolate her from all nesting opportunities, or just let her laze around in bed all day?? It can’t surely be healthy for her??
Hi newslug
Your hen is broody. Hens can go broody without eggs to sit on. She will not be happy in this state and will continue until you stop her. I have a post here which will help
https://www.cottagesmallholder.com/how-to-make-a-broody-coop-for-your-chickens-and-bantams-in-under-an-hour-289
do 2 female light Sussex have eggs
Hi Susan
Yes they do lay eggs. But it’s late in the season now so expect laying to begin in January.
We seem to get varying opinion on what is bestfor our bantams – for me, I give them some “millrun” (bran with pollard) mixed with water an large cup of mixed grain, (corn the predominant one, but also includes laying pellets) for ‘breakfast’
I have 7 bantas, 8 guinea fowl and four normal chooks.( hens)
About 1 pm ( if I’m home) i give them about half a cup of mixed grain … and to entice the ‘stragglers into their coop at night, I give them another cup of mixed grain,.
They are pretty much free rangers – and they certainly keep the weeds down. The Guinea fowl are said to be good atkeeping ticks at bay ( and so far this australian summer, it appears to be true…. and as a group they will also have a go at rounding up a snake ( so thats probably why I havent seen any snakes on our property this season! … I have however, seen two carpet pythons not far from where the chicken coop is – a python loves to eat chickens! so I’m keeping a close watch on what goeson there ( In Australia most snakes/pythons etc are protected by law. You are not allowed to kill them ( unless there are no witnesses!(wink).
From my collection of poultry I am getting between 7 and 11 eggs per day,, (for now) so I think Im happy with the formula I’ve come up with.
Hi Kirsty, Susie’s right, even our utility ISA Browns (one egg a day give or take sub zero temperatures, nuclear holocaust etc) slow down slightly in the dark and cold of winter (and when moulting).
Also, it’s great that you are planning to let them out – they will really thrive with a bit of freedom and scratching around – just cover up any tender seedlings with twigs. They will usually put themselves away at night but I would maybe encourage them inside the first couple of times in case they decide to prefer a nice sheltered hedge or bush! I heard bantams more likely to try and roost in trees?
Finally, for treats, be careful not to give them anything that has salt, strong spices or meat (or eggs, I wouldn’t anyway) in; you can chop it up a bit as they obviously tend to guzzle stuff whole, but my girls love:
cooked plain rice
cooked plain pasta
cooked plain potatoes (especially mashed and they do look funny with it all over their beaks)
cooked plain spaghetti (they think it is worms and rush trying to steal it off each other)
cooked or uncooked veg like broccoli or spinach(try hanging up a whole cabbage or lettuce for them in the run)
left over cereal with milk (but not too often cos of additives)
They also get a small handful of mixed corn in the evenings – important not to give it in the a.m. as they will then not eat their boring but more nutritious pellets; and also because corn is rich and the richer the food the less they will lay, I have heard.
Hope this helps!
Enjoy your first eggs!
Hi Kirsty, Your chicks are quite young. Most chickens start to lay after they are 5 months old or later. They dont need laying feed til they get close to that time. They will go back into their coop all by themselves at night. Its natural for them. Hope this helps. I think you may have a while for eggs as winter has less sun lit hours and so the laying slows down. Susie in Florida
We have got 4 hens (2xpeking bantams, 2 x bantams) they were born on 20th July 2010. Can u tell me when they r due to start laying they have been moulting, some more than others, is this right? Also they r currently in their run all the time I want to let them out in the garden, will they back in their house on their own when it gets dark or will I have to catch them and put them in? Also I am feeding them Garbo food that we was advised when we bought them (for growing) will I need to change this if they r goingt o start laying? Also any ideas of treats I can give them. We r new at this and would appreicate any advise.
hello everyone its 18 month since ive visited the site and i can see fn is still giving excellent advice.ive now gone onto layers mash 6.50 for 25 kilo and im not feeding nothing else at all ive 150 hens there laying like mad.im still having problems with redmite ive used everything to kill them they must be one of the hardest things in the world to get rid of
Hi, If you want to know if eggs are fertile you have to candle them. Thats an old term still used as they actually used candles years ago. Today any good light will do. after the eggs have been sat on or put in an incubator for a week you put a light behind them. A flashlight thats bright works fine. you will see what looks like spider webs or fine threads and then the egg is fertile. No fine threads the egg is not fertile. The eggs must be kept warm by the hen or the incubator or even if they are fertile they will not hatch. Hope this helps. Susie, Florida, USA…
Hi
How do i tell wether my chickens eggs are fertile or not and how do i get my hen to hatch them??
Also, i want to make new egg boxes but my chicken just started laying and im not sure wether its safe to take her old box away because i read that chickens like to lay in the same box everytime, what do i do??