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’ve enjoyed this website on chickens. as I just got 25 18mos old hens with a wooster and I’ve never seen hens being so afraid. They huddle in the nests and corner. They are leghorns and I got a week ago. Also there corns are pink but they look real good Please let me know what the problem is thank you. lavon shields
Hi Louise
Gestation of the egg takes 21-22 days.
hello i just want to know how long a chicken will sit an egg before it is hatch?
Hi Johnny
I’ve been scouring the internet for an answer and drawn a complete blank.
Mrs Boss adopted the guinea fowl eggs last summer and did’t lay an egg until this spring. I didn’t monitor this as I was watching her interact with her brood but thinking about it there wass never a egg in the nest for at least 3 months after they had hatched and had been moved to the grown up hen house. A hen that is looking after her young wouldn’t lay as she is distracted by her ‘chicks’.
Had my Chickens for about 2 months, 1 old hen, 3chicks about 10 weeks old and another breed which I’m not sure of?. The older Hen (Mother of the Chicks and a Bantam I think) Hasn’t Laid an egg do they stop at a certain age or is there a period after they have Chicks that they stop for? Please Help.
Thank you .
Hi Michelle
I know that Silkies go broody at the drop of a hat so probably are raised for this quality rather than their eggs.
I haven’t raised them so don’t know about them sitting in doorways!
It™s always best to shut chickens in at night to keep them safe.
is it true that silkys are poor layers and do they have to be shut up at night as they like to sit in door way with bottoms sticking out and wont go in with out a little push
Hi Rick
I’m afraid that I can’t help re identifying whether you have a male. I am assuming that they are at least 8 months old and by this stage it should be obvious. You need to dig more deeply on the internet for pictures to help you.
The hens will start laying eventually. You just need to be patient and provide some quiet dark nesting boxes to encourage them to lay.
Hi, thanks for the reply, how obvious is it that any of them are males? I have one of the reds that seems a bit bigger than the other two, and has larger tail feathers, could this one be male? and do I need a male for the pullets to start laying? do I have good varieties (suffolk whites and rhode islands) for egg laying? thanks again for your help. I am so glad to have found a correspondence site regarding chickens, I was floundering with lack of knowledge a bit before this, great to have someone to ask these things!!
Hi Rick
If you can’t tell if you have any cockerels by now you probably only have pullets (young females).
Hens can take up to a year from hatching to mature and start laying.
Nesting boxes (even old wooden boxes lined with hay) would help progress the potential laying. A nesting box is a good idea. The hens love a dark quiet place to lay their eggs.