Do hens lay their eggs before a certain time of the day?

[holliewould]

I understand they don't lay at night??? So do they do it early morning? I'm just curious because I'm not going to let them free range all day long until I'm sure they will use their nest box for egg laying. One more thing, should they start laying at about 6months old?

 

[cajunlizz]

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HOW old are your chickens ? the more excerise the better ,

Turn them loose early in the morning when you go feed and water them , TRUST ME , when they ready to lay they will return into the nesting area , DROP the egg and go back out into the run. Mine lay at different times , I usually get a couple of eggs in the morning and the rest late afternoon . JUST turn them LOOSE into the RUN AREA and leave the coop open for them to go and lay . Depending on the breed , SOME chickens start laying as early as 4 months and some are 5 or 6 months old .

HOW many chickens do you have ? and WHAT SIZE COOP AND RUN ?

 

[dacjohns]

They don't always come back home to lay in the boxes though. I have found eggs in the run, in the coop not in a box, under my car, and I'm sure there are more I haven't found. I was letting the hens out first thing in the morning but have started keeping them in until around noon. They seem to have finished laying by noon although I have found eggs in the late afternoon.

 

[cajunlizz]

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MY RUN is enclosed so they can NOT get out of the run area , BUT they can go into the section of the coop to lay . I will NOT confine them into a HOT COOPED UP AREA until they decide to LAY .


Mine are released as early as possible . THEY NEVER LAY same time everyday .

 

[holliewould]

I only have 2 RIRs so far. They are about 13 weeks old. I know what yer thinking "get more chickens dummy"...I'm getting 3 more RIRs at the end of the month. Woohoo. They free range all day and I coop them in at night only. Because of their size they don't have any predators down here. I'm just scared that when they go to lay they won't do it in their nest box. My coop is about 6ft by 5ft and about 5ft high. So how about RIRs? What age do they typically start laying? Are their eggs large or xtra large?

 

[dacjohns]

Quote:
MY RUN is enclosed so they can NOT get out of the run area , BUT they can go into the section of the coop to lay . I will NOT confine them into a HOT COOPED UP AREA until they decide to LAY .


Mine are released as early as possible . THEY NEVER LAY same time everyday .

?????

 

[holliewould]

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Ahahaha!

 

[dacjohns]

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Where are you that your chickens don't have any predators?

The age when they start laying is generally around 4 to 6 months.

My RIR lays pretty big eggs, I guess you could call them extra large.

 

[holliewould]

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In the Keys. They run wild here. Some of them might get ran over though I suppose. We have some bald eagles but they stay away from the neighborhoods. Other then that, nothing. The raccoons and possums don't seem to give a crap. They eat the cat food and bananas.

My dog likes the chickens and the cats are scared of the chickens especially when they flap their wings.


Oh man oh man Xtra large? Woohooo!

 

[cajunlizz]

little news flash :


when they 1st. start laying the eggs are alot smaller than if they were say a yr. old . and I have 3 FULL SIZE HENS RIR's that are maybe a 8 or 9 months old and they never lay the same size eggs . MAYBE when they are older the eggs will be larger . I sure hope so .

BUT they are nice and BROWN . and I give them laying pellets EVERYDAY ..... I give a little bread , RICE, and snacks , BUT ALWAYS PELLETS EVERYDAY . and PLENTY PLENTY OF WATER .... and dont forget the GRIT