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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i am so glad to know that im not the only panicking ive done the wrong thing or that my chickens are sulking. have an ex-bat (3 years) a run of the mill (2 years) and just brought 6 POL 2 weeks ago….im lucky if i get 2 eggs a day out of 4 i know can lay! will just have to wait i guess…..it is funny watching them and they eat the weeds and past it plants amazingly…..good luck to us all!
I also have/had Auracaunas/Americaunas. I find them to be pretty irregular layers all year long. I’d say 3/week on average during the summer and maybe 1 a month during winter. Right now, maybe-maybe not. Evidently, the eggs are naturally low(er)-cholesterol. Be patient-the eggs are definitely worth it!
Hello, I bought 2 Americana Chicks late last year. Id say around July. I have yet to get one single egg from them. They are on laying mesh and leftover veggies. Like corn, potatoes and peas. I read some articles last year that they needed sunlight and since there area was in the shade I moved them. I figured Id have eggs by this time this year. Today I learned about the nesting box so now they have one. Any suggestions on why they might not be laying?
hello joanne all chickens have a pecking order your cockrel will be fine in a couple of week hes new in the flock id love to no what people are paying now for layers pellets as the price as gone mad
Hi I was wondering if you have any advice for me, my friend went to a auction today to get some Bantams and brought home 3, 1 of them a rooster she is unable to keep him so i have taken him on as i have plenty of space for him, but im wondering if he will be ok going in with my 6 hens 3 of them are around 30 weeks 3 of them are over a year old, I kept him separeate for a few hours with a mesh partition and then introduced them for 1 hour before the sun went down and they have all go into roost together.
Im just concerned as the hens gave him a good pecking, is this normal and will they settle down after a day or 2?
Thanks everso for any advice
Joanne.
Thank you for you advise and your quick reply!
I understand now that they will be laying soon then i am guessing in a few days, it is good to hear that pullets don’t have an affect, what about about having different breeds of chickens together, there are chicken fights sometimes between some, but do keeping these different breeds together affect the egg productivity of the chickens? i can not exactly tell you the breed of chicken since well i am swedish and living in china, these are chinese chickens, and where i bought them there are many different breeds all together so i don’t know which one is which and what they are called. But to get to the point, does this affect the production of eggs????
Thank you so much for you previous advise, and i will get back to you with the updates!!
hello everyone, i was wondering if you experienced people might be able to help me with my situation
A week ago i bought 14 chickens of the 13 are hens and one is a rooster. They have a amazing chicken house, as well as a pen to be in as well as rich feed. It has been about a week and only one chicken has laid an one egg. They are all grown chickens and from my previously owned chickens observation, they should really be starting to lay eggs now. Could any one help me with this situation, and perhaps any suggestions or reasons why this is happening?
Do like small chickens have an effect on the hens egg laying, these small chickens are about a few months old, do they have an affect on the egg laying of the older hens?
help would much be appreciated!
Hi William
The hens need time to settle – the move will have rattled them. They will begin to lay when they relax! You just need to be patient.
Younger hens (pullets) will not put the older ones off lay. It’s best to have a mix of ages, I think.
Hi there,,
I have 3 hybrid hens who i bought at the end of October at point of lay. I was expecting them to start laying around now, after the cold spell, but still nothing. Is this usual? do i have to wait for the warmer days?
Today one has dug herself a hole and is nesting in it outside – could this be a sign and shouldnt she be laying in her lovely nest box?
Hi Bex
They should be laying by Easter. Pont of Lay hens are not always POL. You bought them fairly late when lots of mature chickens are going off lay. Our older hens are laying but in spurts. Our new POLs are not laying. Check the crests on their heads they will start laying when the crests go red. The one outside might have gone broody? What breed are your hens? Some lay much better than others.
I have an Americauna that was hatched mid April. I also have 4 other hens the same age. All the hens are laying and have been since September except the Americauna. There is plenty of light and they are very healthy. Will she ever produce eggs?
Hi
I am new on here its 25th jan and i have no eggs from my birds
I have my two year old and 8mth olds about 30 in total but no eggs to date, the older birds where laying well last year.
I have them on shredded paper with barley straw in the nest boxes and on layers pellets
what am i doing wrong the geese and turkeys are not laying either
I feed them in hoopers every morning and open the cages about 7.30am they are free range all day and shut up at dusk.
Hi Marion
Welcome to the site.
My hens are not laying yet either – it’s starting very late this year. I have one of 2 years old and one of 18 months. I don’t think that you are doing anything wrong – you just have to be patient.