Chicken laying at sunset?

[Beni]

Hello! Thanks in advance to anyone who reads and responds. This forum has been so helpful. Hoping to one day contribute answers and not just questions

I have 11 hens and a rooster. 5 hens are 24 weeks old and the other 6 are 22 weeks. They're just beginning to lay - some randomly and some more consistently - but we're averaging about 3-5 eggs a day for the past week or so. I have them cooped during the day so they get used to using the nest boxes and not just a hole in the ground or a horse grain bucket and I let them out to free range from about 5pm until dark 8 / 8:30pm. I let them out in the evening because I've noticed they stop laying about 1-3pm. But tonight when I went to shut them in around 8pm one was in a nest box and the others on the roosts. I shut out the lights and came back out half and hour later and she was climbing onto the roost with the others but had left an egg in the box.

Is it normal for a hen to lay so late in the evening? Should I be worried about her health or just assume it's part of her learning curve?

Again, thanks for any guidance.

 

[AlleysChicks]

Sometimes mine lay right before bedtime and then skip the next day. It takes so many hours to create an egg.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Hello! Thanks in advance to anyone who reads and responds. This forum has been so helpful. Hoping to one day contribute answers and not just questions

I have 11 hens and a rooster. 5 hens are 24 weeks old and the other 6 are 22 weeks. They're just beginning to lay - some randomly and some more consistently - but we're averaging about 3-5 eggs a day for the past week or so. I have them cooped during the day so they get used to using the nest boxes and not just a hole in the ground or a horse grain bucket and I let them out to free range from about 5pm until dark 8 / 8:30pm. I let them out in the evening because I've noticed they stop laying about 1-3pm. But tonight when I went to shut them in around 8pm one was in a nest box and the others on the roosts. I shut out the lights and came back out half and hour later and she was climbing onto the roost with the others but had left an egg in the box.

Is it normal for a hen to lay so late in the evening? Should I be worried about her health or just assume it's part of her learning curve?

Again, thanks for any guidance.

Chickens are creatures of habit. New to change, New change can create stress. They will be more consistent when they feel comfortable and secure.. no worries

 

[azygous]

It's not worrisome right at this time, but it could indicate she's feeling harassed when she needs to use the nest box. There's a chance she laid her egg so late because she was holding it in due to congestion around the nests. You might want to observe to be sure this isn't what's going on.

A timid hen who doesn't feel up to the competition for a nest box may hold her egg back repeatedly. That could end up causing internal problems later on.

You don't say how many nest boxes are available in the coop. Sometimes, even if there are plenty of nests, if they're all in the same location, it might still be intimidating for a timid hen if aggressive hens are lording it over the nests.

 

[aart]

Not unusual for new layers to lay later...happens with older hens sometimes too.
Azygous makes good points about traffic jams and pecking order stress.
Newly laying birds can be quite agitated and the pecking order can change over and over until they all are laying and get things settled.

 

[FrankHomestead]

I've read from several members that their girls all vary laying times. If it's true that it takes 26 hours to produce an egg, then they must lay a little later each day, no?

 

[aart]

I've read from several members that their girls all vary laying times. If it's true that it takes 26 hours to produce an egg, then they must lay a little later each day, no?

Yeppers...usually.
I see the laying shift pretty regularly from earlier to later, sometimes as a flock and sometimes not. Dem chickens be fickle....and lots of variables affect the process.

It takes about 25 hours for an egg to form, a new ova is released shortly after an egg is laid. A new egg could be laid approximately every 25-26 hours, so an hour or so later every day until one is laid late in the day and another ova might not be released until the following day, so a day off. BUT..very hen is different and only time will tell what a particular hen/pullets schedule might be. Not every hen/pullet lays every day..some only lay a few a week.

 

[FrankHomestead]

Yeppers...usually.
I see the laying shift pretty regularly from earlier to later, sometimes as a flock and sometimes not. Dem chickens be fickle....and lots of variables affect the process.

It takes about 25 hours for an egg to form, a new ova is released shortly after an egg is laid. A new egg could be laid approximately every 25-26 hours, so an hour or so later every day until one is laid late in the day and another ova might not be released until the following day, so a day off. BUT..very hen is different and only time will tell what a particular hen/pullets schedule might be. Not every hen/pullet lays every day..some only lay a few a week.

Makes sense. I watched a video yesterday someone posted about egg formation, very detailed for visual learners like myself. it was fascinating! and to think I never gave the incredible, edible egg much thought before raising my own.

 

[feather13]

Mine rarely ever lay in the morning, preferring to lay all during the day, including after 4pm. It's so hot here that I can't understand why they wouldn't want to lay in the morning. One thing I've learned on this wonderful forum is that there's a broad range of what's normal!

 

[FrankHomestead]

Mine rarely ever lay in the morning, preferring to lay all during the day, including after 4pm. It's so hot here that I can't understand why they wouldn't want to lay in the morning. One thing I've learned on this wonderful forum is that there's a broad range of what's normal!

OK dumb question lol but can they control when they lay?