1. How many eggs will my hens lay? 2. Should I wash the eggs my hens lay? 3. What is the difference between a bantam egg and a regular egg? 4. How long do chickens lay eggs? 5. When will my hens start to lay eggs? 6. How do you tell what color eggs a hen will lay? 7. where does the egg come from, and how does the shell harden or form around the egg? 8. One of our chickens laid an egg without a shell. Is this a cause for concern? 1. How many eggs will my hens lay? top On the average, 3 hens will give you 2 eggs a day. That means to get a dozen eggs a day, you would need 18 hens. submitted by admin , answered by admin , last updated Nov 20, 2009 2. Should I wash the eggs my hens lay? top This argument rages forever - I wash mine with a scrubby sponge and cold water when I'm ready to eat them. Some people use anti-bac soap, others claim you are washing off the "bloom" and letting bacterian INTO the egg by doing that. I like a nice clean egg when I'm going to cook it or give it to someone. submitted by admin , answered by admin , last updated Nov 20, 2009 3. What is the difference between a bantam egg and a regular egg? top A bantam egg is smaller. Nutritionally there is no difference. submitted by admin , answered by admin , last updated Nov 20, 2009 4. How long do chickens lay eggs? top Chicken can lay eggs into their teens, although they sometimes stop earlier. submitted by admin , answered by admin , last updated Nov 20, 2009 5. When will my hens start to lay eggs? top Most hens start to lay around 4-6 months of age, more or less. However, for various reasons (time of year, temperature, etc.) they may wait until the next Spring to start laying eggs. submitted by admin , answered by admin , last updated Nov 20, 2009 6. How do you tell what color eggs a hen will lay? top You can tell by the color of the earlobes in general. A white lobed hen will lay white eggs, while a red lobed hen will lay brown eggs. The exception to this would be the Easter Egger, Ameraucana, and Araucana breeds. They will lay eggs in colors ranging from khaki green to sky blue, to pink tinted, to occasionally lavender tinted. they will usually have red ear lobes. submitted by admin , answered by admin , last updated Nov 20, 2009 7. where does the egg come from, and how does the shell harden or form around the egg? top After the yolk is formed in the hen's single ovary, the yolk drops into the body cavity. From there it goes into the infundibulum, or "funnel". It then starts it on its way down the oviduct. The oviduct is more than 2 feet long and is lined with glands that secrete the materials for the albumen (egg white), shell membranes, and shell. The egg color pigment is added in the last stages of this process. It takes twenty-four hours or more from the time the yolk is released until the completed egg is laid. submitted by Ellie , answered by admin , last updated Nov 20, 2009 8. One of our chickens laid an egg without a shell. Is this a cause for concern? top A soft or even no-shelled egg is something that happens occasionally in even healthy hens. It's generally no cause for concern, unless there is other sign of illness or it's a regular occurance. There's no need to separate your hen. What you may want to consider is adding some calcium to the diet if you haven't already. This can be given in the form of ground oyster shells, or other calcium suppliments. submitted by Doug , answered by admin , last updated Nov 20, 2009

Can't find an answer to your question? Post it in our Chicken Forum