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
hi everyone,
we have 6 chickens about 18wks old, an had our very first eggs this morning, as i found out when i noticed hubby dancing round the garden lol the eggs are very small and i was wondering if they will get bigger?
we have 2 blackrocks, 1 magpie, 1 leghorn, 1 sussex pont and 1 rhondda blue
one of my new chickens is sleeping all the time it will only walk a few steps then lays down and goes back to sleep, she is only about 6 months, and not not started laying yet, she is a Warren chicken
Hi Amanda
We had a chicken like this. He didn’t grow properly and he was always odd – we named him Baby. He appeared to be sleeping but in the end I reckoned that it was some kind of epilepsy. He died after a year and during that year he crept into my heart so is sadly missed. Sometimes chickens are not the full six pack – just give her loads of cuddles as she probably won’t last very long.
Stressed Chickens need your help!!!
I have 16 chickens and seven days ago a strange dog came on our farm and chased my chickens. Since then we have only been getting 6 to 8 eggs a day. Does this mean my chickens will not ever lay eggs again?
Hi Lois
Don’t worry, they have been severely rattled by a ‘wolf’. You will get eggs eventually when the hens settle down.
You might all be better off posting these questions on the forum try this link:
https://www.cottagesmallholder.com/forum/chickens
Good luck!
Hi,
I purchased 3 Warren POL hens on the 10th of June 2011, we have had 1 egg (sometime towards the end of June, but not sure which hen layed the egg) to date and I am getting a little inpatient waiting for more eggs! I feed them a mixture of Layers pellets and corn and household scraps, they are also free range and seem to be happy hens! Is it just more time they need or what???!!!
Hi,
Can you please tell me how long it takes for young sussex chickens to start laying eggs.
i am really confused now…..advice would be lovely please. 3 of the new girls i mentioned above give me small eggs every day…the ones who were laying for me before hand have stopped laying…they havent given me eggs for a good 3 weeks now. even the older girls who should still have plenty to give have stopped! is it because the new ones are stopping the older ones going in the coop to lay? or are they still sulking about the big change 6 weeks ago? they are all getting on well now….im so pleased….but not the normal eggs we were used to!
Hi i have two hens – one is still laying every day bu the other has stopped. I noticed a few weeks ago that her feathers around her breast had gone and i now believe that she is having problems digesting her food as this morning her gullet is still full. i treat the house for red mite but do not do anything else. she lay one egg without a shell then the next day she lay a good egg then she laid a tiny egg now nothing – appreciate any advice.
Hi, we have a laying hen in Qld and she spends most of the day with out labrador dog. She is now 6 months old and has not started laying yet. She eats a mix of laying pellets, grains, scraps (any we feed the dog) and is free ranged. At night we put her in the coop to keep her safe from the neighbourhood cats. If she had her way she would sleep with the dog. I am concerned that she thinks she is a dog.
Hi Yall, Havent been on in a while. This new format is easier. Older but not wiser when it comes to the new electronics. I have found my Auracanas have finally turned on. I am getting a good amount of eggs now. It did have me concerned all winter and spring. I have added 40 more white leghorn as I sell the eggs to pay for the feed for chickens and 2 small dairy cows and 1 small bull. The drought here in Florida has me buying hay still. Well hope your eggs are flowing. Susie