Can a chicken lay more than one egg a day?

[Chainsawgrandma]

This might be an old thread, but I had to comment on it because of how our chickens continue to amaze us! We have red sex-link (you can tell sex immediately after hatching) chickens. The pullets are very affectionate and follow you around like puppies. If they hear me come outside, they stampede to the gate and wait for me (they are just hoping I have kitchen scraps for them).

As to the question, "How many eggs will a chicken lay". These red sex link chickens are prolific egg layers. We get double yolks all the time. We pick up the eggs on a daily basis in the morning, check for extras in the evening. Today, out of 31 chickens, we got 33 eggs! And that was by noon! You can usually tell a 'double yolker' by the size and a banding around the middle. We usually don't even have to candle the eggs. It's pretty obvious. And, apparently a couple of the girls are due overtime pay. (Don't tell the Chicken Union!

)

When we bought them, we selected this breed just because they usually lay 300+ eggs a year. Something I have learned in the last few months of being a chicken mom...don't wear flip-flops with red nail polish, they will peck at your toes! AND wear pants if you have freckles on your legs, they think you have bugs crawling on you!

 

[Tami Turner]

Hello! Yes they can! We have a Rhode Island Red and a White Leghorn among 3 others and both have laid two eggs in one day. For the WL it's rare, but we have a RIR that lays two a day pretty commonly. I'd say 5 days a week if she's not on a break. It's uncommon to find a chicken that does, but we got lucky! Usually her eggs come out different colors, different sizes, or one soft shell one hard shell. If your bird is laying two eggs take it as a good sign! It usually means they have very good nutrition. When my White Leghorn was laying pullets, We'd get double yolk a lot. That's also a fairly rare occurance but if it happens it means your chicken is healthy!

 

[Jharper]

Hello! Yes they can! We have a Rhode Island Red and a White Leghorn among 3 others and both have laid two eggs in one day. For the WL it's rare, but we have a RIR that lays two a day pretty commonly. I'd say 5 days a week if she's not on a break. It's uncommon to find a chicken that does, but we got lucky! Usually her eggs come out different colors, different sizes, or one soft shell one hard shell. If your bird is laying two eggs take it as a good sign! It usually means they have very good nutrition. When my White Leghorn was laying pullets, We'd get double yolk a lot. That's also a fairly rare occurance but if it happens it means your chicken is healthy!

That just means that they quit laying earlier than normal.

 

[Chainsawgrandma]

Ours are sex link cross of RIR. Some animals, and people, are predisposed to multiple births/egg laying. It doesn't necessarily mean they quit laying earlier. There is NOT a finite number of eggs.

 

[Arteest763]

So glad to hear this. I have 7 hens. 2 rocks, 1 buff, 1 australorp, 1 marans,1 aurucauna, 1 silky. For that last 4 days I am getting 9 eggs! No joke. I pull eggs in the morning and when they are put away at night. I have over achievers. They started laying at three months and are happy and healthy. I followed all the rules of feeding, free range, supplements, forage, hay, and they all get attention and love to be held.

 

[Chainsawgrandma]

Our chickens are spoiled rotten. They get fed all my kitchen canning scraps. Our turkeys are afraid of the chickens, so when it comes time to eat the goodies, they are a bit standoff-ish. They have the run of our back pasture and lots of shade and water. When I go out to dump my scraps (cucumbers and apples right now), they all come running. The 'dinner bell' is the sound of the sliding glass door opening. Ours (red sex link) started laying about 5 months old and now we get all uniform (except for the double yolked eggs) sizes of pretty brown eggs. Sounds like you have a nice assortment of happy chickens.

 

[DanielleD]

I have 3 Austrolorpes & 3 isa browns who are 5 months old & I get 8 eggs every day from 6 chickens. I thought it was a bit strange, but I'm not complaining! The eggs are not discoloured or are they misshapen. One chicken regularly lays double yolkers also!!

 

[karol]

I read a great article on Female Reproduction: Control of Ovarian Function and it indicates that resuts from University of Alberta research trails suggest that the ideal number of large follicleas at secual maturity is in the range of 7 to 8. Having too manyy follicles is associated with over feeding. Basically, when there are too many follicles, the hen has some that are identical maturational status as other follicles and double hierarchies can result. This can result in double-yolked eggs, or the laying of two eggs in one 24 hour period. So, you may be over feeding your chicken.

 

[Chainsawgrandma]

So, you are saying we shouldn't allow our chickens to free range and eat at will? Should we starve them to keep their egg production down? Have you ever heard of hybrid vigor??

 

[karol]

Also, may add from same source, many of the eggs may have weak or no shell. A hen can normally only put shell on a single egg per day properly, as the shell gland only holds one egg at a time and it takes about 20 hours to apply the shell. When two eggs are laid on a single day, one usually will have ovulated a few hours before the other and is already becoming calcified when the second egg arrives in the shell gland. The point where the two eggs contact is usually poorly calcified and both eggs show a flat side. Both eggs would be unsettable due to poor shell quality, as they would dehydrate too much during incubation.