Perhaps you're wondering when your first egg will appear if you've just started raising chickens. Take your time - don't rush it! You might have to wait a while before you start reaping the rewards of owning chickens if you just brought your flock home, or if you just hatched your own babies.
Chickens aren't born with the ability to lay eggs. Time is one of the most significant factors in egg production, and it plays a significant role. If you are wondering whether your chickens will lay eggs soon - and if so, how you can get them to do so - there are a few guidelines you can follow.
The first thing you need to know is that healthy and happy hens will produce a lot of eggs and that the best way to encourage egg laying is to keep them in good health. Apart from that, patience is essential - as is a little experience raising chickens!
There are chickens that can lay long before that time, while others will take a lot longer to initiate this biological process.
Egg production is influenced by many factors, and while some birds produce eggs year-round, others stop laying during certain times of the year. The cold, dark winter months aren't the only time when laying grinds to a halt.
Seasonal changes in your birds like broodiness and molting can lead to an interruption of laying (or a failure to begin laying altogether).
In general, heavier chicken breeds, such as Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, and Orpingtons, tend to lay a bit later. Australrops, Leghorns, and other smaller breeds tend to lay eggs earlier. However, it can vary within a flock, as well - even if all your chickens are Australorps, they won't necessarily start laying at the same time.
There are some hybrid chicken breeds bred specifically for egg production - and to lay eggs earlier as well. Breeds like Golden Comets and other sex-link chickens fall into this category. Keep in mind that this comes at a cost.
Despite laying eggs much sooner, these chickens generally don't lay for as long. And their life expectancy is typically much shorter.
It is important not to interfere with flock dynamics. Adding or removing chickens from a flock will alter the pecking order of your birds, throwing their entire cycle out of whack.
Be cautious when introducing new chickens, doing so thoughtfully and slowly to avoid any problems.
In addition to parasites, there are other diseases that can significantly affect egg production, such as coccidiosis and fowlpox. To prevent chicken diseases, keeping a coop and run clean and sanitary is as important as providing proper nutrition and clean drinking water.
However, you should also be cautious when buying chickens. Buy your chickens from a reputable source - and when adding to your flock, be overly cautious.
Most of the time, chickens will be fine without heating their coops throughout the winter months. Nevertheless, if your hens are not laying (or never have started), they could be too cold. Ensure everything is securely sealed in your coop by doing a thorough walkthrough. With plywood, you can patch up large air gaps in the coop, which are usually caused by damage or rotting wood.
Consider adding some extra bedding to the coop and nest boxes, and go with the deep litter method of bedding the coop - this will add heat to the coop as the chicken manure decomposes into compost.
The temperature of the coop is incredibly important for increasing the likelihood that your chickens will lay eggs, but you don't want it to be too sealed up. Avoid drafts, but also ensure adequate ventilation.
By adding vents to the top of the coop, warm, moist air from your chickens' breath will be able to rise out of the coop and be replaced with drier air.
The importance of calcium cannot be overstated. During the first six weeks of their lives, chicks require chick starter feed, which contains about 22 percent protein. If your birds aren't laying yet, you may lower the protein amounts until they start laying. Once they do, you will have to switch to a layer feed containing additional protein and calcium.
In case you haven't switched your flock over to a layer feed yet and they've reached an age where laying should be expected, do so now. It contains the extra calcium your girls require to lay eggs.
Avoid feeding layer feed to mixed flocks that have roosters. Roosters don't require calcium to produce eggs, so the extra calcium can damage their internal organs. You should instead offer a supplement that contains oyster shells or ground eggshells. The hens will have free access to this, and your roosters won't eat it.
For hens to lay successfully, not only is the type of feed important, but also the quantity. Ensure your hens have access to free choice food without limiting them. This will prevent a lot of health problems.
Include a regular natural deworming regimen to prevent parasites from the beginning. While most people do not use chemical dewormers as a preventative method (and you shouldn't either, as they can cause other health problems), you can engage in some natural preventative care.
Make sure the coop is clean, rotate the grazing, and add garlic to the feed to get rid of parasites. Others mix diatomaceous earth into the feed. You should also add diatomaceous earth to your chickens' dust baths, as this is generally a good practice.
Parasites don't just affect chickens internally - they can also be acquired externally. External parasites, such as chicken mites, are just as harmful to regular laying behavior as internal parasites, so keep your flock clean to prevent external parasites.
In order to prevent your birds from eating eggs, cover your nest boxes with curtains, collect laid eggs promptly, and add calcium supplements. You may have to cull a hen if she becomes addicted to eggs once she has a taste for them.
Broken eggs in the nest box and a hen pecking at her own (or other hens') eggs are signs that your hens are laying eggs but eating them.
In order to find out if your chickens will start laying eggs, you need to build good nest boxes. There needs to be plenty of nesting space (room for turning around) and plenty of bedding in the nest box for chickens. For a chicken who is about to lay her first egg, a nesting box full of poop is not very appealing.
Provide enough nesting boxes for each hen as well. If you don't provide enough space, your hens may choose to lay their eggs elsewhere or may hold onto their eggs, causing egg binding. Your hens may also jostle for space in the nest box, resulting in broken eggs, which then leads to egg eating.
They should be at least twelve inches wide and raised off the floor. To prevent parasites and poopy eggs, clean them regularly.
The decrease in laying over the winter months isn't always a bad thing though. Taking a quick break before returning to her normal patterns can be healthy for a hen, allowing her body to rest and rejuvenate.
Those hens who haven't laid their first egg yet won't usually molt - they need to be a bit older. If, however, birds' egg production has suddenly declined and it's late summer or fall, the molt could be to blame. It is common for chickens to stop laying eggs during molting because their bodies are using too much energy.
Molting is a stressful time for chickens, so don't make it worse by forcing them to lay eggs. Don't panic; just make sure you're providing your flock with adequate nutrition.
When your hens go broody, they won't lay any more eggs since their attention will be focused on hatching the egg or eggs that they are sitting on. Broodiness is more common in certain breeds of chickens than others, but it rarely lasts longer than 21 days.
An egg that is body checked is a sign that your hen is being stressed by a predator (which can be real or just perceived, such as if the dog keeps wandering outside the covered run). The shell of this egg has ridges halfway down. During body checking, the hen's body attempts to internal repair damage caused by stress to the eggshell.
Verify that no areas of your coop or run have been compromised by doing a walk-through. Assuring your hens are secure will encourage them to lay eggs.
You will not only know that you are on the right track but you will also be prepared for the onslaught of eggs (hopefully) that is about to hit you. Now let's see what they look like.
Has her comb and wattle changed in color or size? While they won't look as red or large as a rooster, you may notice that these things become more prominent as she matures.
Also, your hen may begin squatting. You can check this by placing your hand directly above her back. A hen who is about to lay might hunker down and spread her wings out, which is a sign she is sexually mature (and ready to lay eggs).
The moment you see your hen sitting on her nest and straining slightly, perhaps even crowing, cackling, or chatting to other members of her flock, you are in luck - she is about to lay an egg!
So get your favorite frying pan and your favorite egg recipe ready. Breakfast is about to be served!
Further Reading:
Chickens aren't born with the ability to lay eggs. Time is one of the most significant factors in egg production, and it plays a significant role. If you are wondering whether your chickens will lay eggs soon - and if so, how you can get them to do so - there are a few guidelines you can follow.
The first thing you need to know is that healthy and happy hens will produce a lot of eggs and that the best way to encourage egg laying is to keep them in good health. Apart from that, patience is essential - as is a little experience raising chickens!
When Do Chickens Start Laying Eggs?
When you are waiting for your chickens to start laying eggs, the first thing you need to realize is that time is the biggest factor. The chickens will not begin laying eggs until they are ready. A newborn chicken will not lay dozens of eggs anytime soon, and most breeds cannot lay their first eggs until they are at least six months old. However, this varies among breeds.There are chickens that can lay long before that time, while others will take a lot longer to initiate this biological process.
What are the factors that influence laying?
Among the important factors are:Timing and the season
If you happen to be reading this article in December, don't expect your hens to lay eggs yet even though they are of the mature age to do so. Sometimes, hens will not lay eggs during the coldest, darkest parts of the winter - and they may wait until spring. Using the "six-month" mark as an estimate for when your hens will begin to lay is just that - an estimate.Egg production is influenced by many factors, and while some birds produce eggs year-round, others stop laying during certain times of the year. The cold, dark winter months aren't the only time when laying grinds to a halt.
Seasonal changes in your birds like broodiness and molting can lead to an interruption of laying (or a failure to begin laying altogether).
Breed
In terms of hens laying eggs, breed is one of the most important factors. In general, chickens begin laying eggs when they are six months old, although this depends on the breed.In general, heavier chicken breeds, such as Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, and Orpingtons, tend to lay a bit later. Australrops, Leghorns, and other smaller breeds tend to lay eggs earlier. However, it can vary within a flock, as well - even if all your chickens are Australorps, they won't necessarily start laying at the same time.
There are some hybrid chicken breeds bred specifically for egg production - and to lay eggs earlier as well. Breeds like Golden Comets and other sex-link chickens fall into this category. Keep in mind that this comes at a cost.
Despite laying eggs much sooner, these chickens generally don't lay for as long. And their life expectancy is typically much shorter.
Flock Dynamics
Chickens follow a pecking order, as you probably already know. It doesn't matter what size your flock is, you will always have a “queen” who reigns supreme over the flock - as well as the individuals at the bottom of the pecking order.It is important not to interfere with flock dynamics. Adding or removing chickens from a flock will alter the pecking order of your birds, throwing their entire cycle out of whack.
Be cautious when introducing new chickens, doing so thoughtfully and slowly to avoid any problems.
Tips on Getting Chickens to Lay Eggs
You can encourage your chicken to lay eggs with the following tips:Ensure Proper Health
Providing your chickens with the best possible living conditions is the best way to get them to lay eggs. Stress or illness will cause a delay in the beginning or continuation of egg production in chickens.In addition to parasites, there are other diseases that can significantly affect egg production, such as coccidiosis and fowlpox. To prevent chicken diseases, keeping a coop and run clean and sanitary is as important as providing proper nutrition and clean drinking water.
However, you should also be cautious when buying chickens. Buy your chickens from a reputable source - and when adding to your flock, be overly cautious.
Warm Things Up
When you cannot get your hen to lay eggs - especially if she has laid eggs before - and broodiness or molting is not a factor, consider the temperature inside and outside the coop. She's probably not laying because it's winter - and maybe your chicken coop is too cold, too.Most of the time, chickens will be fine without heating their coops throughout the winter months. Nevertheless, if your hens are not laying (or never have started), they could be too cold. Ensure everything is securely sealed in your coop by doing a thorough walkthrough. With plywood, you can patch up large air gaps in the coop, which are usually caused by damage or rotting wood.
Consider adding some extra bedding to the coop and nest boxes, and go with the deep litter method of bedding the coop - this will add heat to the coop as the chicken manure decomposes into compost.
The temperature of the coop is incredibly important for increasing the likelihood that your chickens will lay eggs, but you don't want it to be too sealed up. Avoid drafts, but also ensure adequate ventilation.
By adding vents to the top of the coop, warm, moist air from your chickens' breath will be able to rise out of the coop and be replaced with drier air.
Supplement Nutrition
Poor nutrition can negatively impact chickens who are beginning to lay eggs. Ensure that your feed is well-balanced and highly nutritive. Your chickens will get everything they require to lay eggs from most commercial feeds. Nonetheless, you need to pay attention to the nutritional value of your feed in order to make sure they contain the right amount of protein, vitamins, and minerals.The importance of calcium cannot be overstated. During the first six weeks of their lives, chicks require chick starter feed, which contains about 22 percent protein. If your birds aren't laying yet, you may lower the protein amounts until they start laying. Once they do, you will have to switch to a layer feed containing additional protein and calcium.
In case you haven't switched your flock over to a layer feed yet and they've reached an age where laying should be expected, do so now. It contains the extra calcium your girls require to lay eggs.
Avoid feeding layer feed to mixed flocks that have roosters. Roosters don't require calcium to produce eggs, so the extra calcium can damage their internal organs. You should instead offer a supplement that contains oyster shells or ground eggshells. The hens will have free access to this, and your roosters won't eat it.
For hens to lay successfully, not only is the type of feed important, but also the quantity. Ensure your hens have access to free choice food without limiting them. This will prevent a lot of health problems.
Prevent Parasites
If chickens are feeling stressed, they won't lay eggs - and this includes if they are ill or if they are being harassed by parasites. A backyard flock may suffer from a variety of parasites. Internal parasites may cause symptoms such as watery feces, pale combs, a decline in egg production, or even a failure to produce eggs at all.Include a regular natural deworming regimen to prevent parasites from the beginning. While most people do not use chemical dewormers as a preventative method (and you shouldn't either, as they can cause other health problems), you can engage in some natural preventative care.
Make sure the coop is clean, rotate the grazing, and add garlic to the feed to get rid of parasites. Others mix diatomaceous earth into the feed. You should also add diatomaceous earth to your chickens' dust baths, as this is generally a good practice.
Parasites don't just affect chickens internally - they can also be acquired externally. External parasites, such as chicken mites, are just as harmful to regular laying behavior as internal parasites, so keep your flock clean to prevent external parasites.
Check to Make Sure They're Not Eating Eggs
If you know that your hens have started laying eggs and you see none in the nest boxes, it might not be that they are not laying - but that they are eating the eggs they do lay. It is a major problem in chicken raising that is often difficult to overcome.In order to prevent your birds from eating eggs, cover your nest boxes with curtains, collect laid eggs promptly, and add calcium supplements. You may have to cull a hen if she becomes addicted to eggs once she has a taste for them.
Broken eggs in the nest box and a hen pecking at her own (or other hens') eggs are signs that your hens are laying eggs but eating them.
Provide Good Nest Boxes.
It's not uncommon for chickens to lay their eggs somewhere else if their nest boxes aren't to their liking. You may want to take a look around your yard to make sure your hen isn't laying eggs somewhere else... such as under the coop or inside your fresh warm compost bin.In order to find out if your chickens will start laying eggs, you need to build good nest boxes. There needs to be plenty of nesting space (room for turning around) and plenty of bedding in the nest box for chickens. For a chicken who is about to lay her first egg, a nesting box full of poop is not very appealing.
Provide enough nesting boxes for each hen as well. If you don't provide enough space, your hens may choose to lay their eggs elsewhere or may hold onto their eggs, causing egg binding. Your hens may also jostle for space in the nest box, resulting in broken eggs, which then leads to egg eating.
They should be at least twelve inches wide and raised off the floor. To prevent parasites and poopy eggs, clean them regularly.
Add some light
You can add supplemental light to the coop if your chickens have stopped laying and you would like to continue egg production during the winter months. Due to the lack of daylight hours, chickens stop laying in the winter months. You may therefore need a light to get things going.The decrease in laying over the winter months isn't always a bad thing though. Taking a quick break before returning to her normal patterns can be healthy for a hen, allowing her body to rest and rejuvenate.
Make Sure They Aren't Molting
A molt may have caused your chickens to stop laying eggs if you have had them for over a year. Once a year, molting takes place - usually in late summer or early fall. The process involves the shedding of old feathers and the growth of new ones.Those hens who haven't laid their first egg yet won't usually molt - they need to be a bit older. If, however, birds' egg production has suddenly declined and it's late summer or fall, the molt could be to blame. It is common for chickens to stop laying eggs during molting because their bodies are using too much energy.
Molting is a stressful time for chickens, so don't make it worse by forcing them to lay eggs. Don't panic; just make sure you're providing your flock with adequate nutrition.
Eliminate Broodiness
Molting and broodiness are unlikely to happen to hens that haven't laid their first egg. When an older hen suddenly stops laying, broodiness may be the cause. However, broodiness in young chickens isn't unheard of - in fact, some breeds of chickens will become broody at very young ages, sitting on eggs that they never laid themselves!When your hens go broody, they won't lay any more eggs since their attention will be focused on hatching the egg or eggs that they are sitting on. Broodiness is more common in certain breeds of chickens than others, but it rarely lasts longer than 21 days.
Improve Your Coop Security
A tight, secure coop is important for many reasons, but egg production is only one of them. In addition to keeping your chickens warm and safe, you must also protect them from predators. In addition to the fact that a predator can make hens hesitant to lay eggs - remember, a stressed or scared hen is not going to lay - you might also discover that predators are stealing the eggs that are being laid.An egg that is body checked is a sign that your hen is being stressed by a predator (which can be real or just perceived, such as if the dog keeps wandering outside the covered run). The shell of this egg has ridges halfway down. During body checking, the hen's body attempts to internal repair damage caused by stress to the eggshell.
Verify that no areas of your coop or run have been compromised by doing a walk-through. Assuring your hens are secure will encourage them to lay eggs.
Make Sure There Is Water Available
Water is also essential to chickens in order to produce eggs, especially during the summer months. Ensure your hens have constant access to fresh water. You can prevent chicken droppings in your waterer by using an elevated or covered waterer - waterers with nipple drinkers are even better.Use Fake Eggs
Occasionally, your hens don't lay eggs because they haven't thought about it yet. Adding artificial nest eggs or golf balls to the nest boxes is also an option. She will get the idea soon enough!Free-Ranging is Another Option.
Free-ranging chickens receive more exercise and a better diet than chickens raised solely in coops or even confined to small runs. Consider putting your birds out on pasture if you think poor nutrition or limited activity might be to blame.A Few Signs Your Hens are Ready to Lay Eggs
Take a step back to evaluate your chickens after you've tried the tips above and there are still no eggs. Watch for signs that your hens are preparing to lay.You will not only know that you are on the right track but you will also be prepared for the onslaught of eggs (hopefully) that is about to hit you. Now let's see what they look like.
Has her comb and wattle changed in color or size? While they won't look as red or large as a rooster, you may notice that these things become more prominent as she matures.
Also, your hen may begin squatting. You can check this by placing your hand directly above her back. A hen who is about to lay might hunker down and spread her wings out, which is a sign she is sexually mature (and ready to lay eggs).
The moment you see your hen sitting on her nest and straining slightly, perhaps even crowing, cackling, or chatting to other members of her flock, you are in luck - she is about to lay an egg!
So get your favorite frying pan and your favorite egg recipe ready. Breakfast is about to be served!
Further Reading:
