What time do your hens lay?

[Red Star]

I'm inheriting some hens and want them to be free rangers.

The owner said that they don't finish laying until 1 or 2 in the afternoon. This was surprising to me because I always assumed they did this early!

Is this normal? I don't know anything about chickens!

Do I need to wait until they lay to let them out?

 

[CarriBrown]

They will actually lay a little bit later every day as the year goes by, then their body will start the cycle over again. Kind of hard to explain...
I suggest you buy or borrow a book called "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens". It's a great book and will answer just about any question you have. I thinnk just about everyone on this board has that book!

Leave the door to their coop open and they will come and go as they please to eat, drink and lay. You may have a couple that will make a nest in some secret location (in a flower pot, a bush, etc), but that hasn't happened to me yet.
If I let my girls out all day, I'll notice during the day that one of them will be missing. Check the coop- She'll be in there laying! Once she's done, she's back out with the others enjoying herself.

 

[Red Star]

Oh, so they'll go in and lay when they need to?

I didn't know if they would start laying/eating their eggs just anywhere if I let them out in the am to free range before they were done laying.

Guess I'll play it by ear!

Yes, I need to get that book. It's definitely on the list of things to do!

Thanks!

 

[Critter Crazy]

My hens free range, and lay eggs all day long. They go into the coop when they are ready to lay. Some girls are done before they are let out at 7 am, but most dont lay till around 2pm, so I am collecting all day long.

 

[chrissieg]

Put some pot eggs where you want them to lay and they'll just add to the nest. Makes life easy!