26 hours until next egg...???...

[Shaneobi]

Hello backyard chickens community,

Been lurking and taking advantage of all the knowledge here for a while, and finally decided to sign up and ask a question.

I have read in a couple places that after laying, oviposition takes 26 hours to allow for the next egg. I have also read that this coupled with laying hours is what leads to the occasion skip-an-egg day. Not sure of the truth in this, but it leads me to my question...

In a new flock of 10 chickens spread over 9 breeds, the first to start laying was our Novogen Brown, at 3 days shy of 20 weeks. We saw and know it was her for five days in a row between the hours of 11:00 and 12:00. This morning I heard egg song, at around 9:30 and discovered a similar looking egg in the same box as the last five eggs, without visual confirmation of the layer. And, without a 6th egg between 11:00-12:00

Is the 26 hour thing just a rule of thumb average ( especially when dealing with prolifically bred layers such as this) or has another player entered the game?

I know that soon it will be a laughable crapshoot trying to figure out who layed what, minus the EE, but this early in the game i figured we could at least try to keep track of who has started laying and who hasn't. Just curious if anyone could share some thoughts on this.

Thanks

 

[Ridgerunner]

A rule of thumb. You can take most of the numbers that you read on here to be a rule of thumb or general guidelines, not necessarily a law of nature.

From the time a yolk is released to start it's journey through the hen's internal egg making factory until the egg pops out of her vent is about 25 hours, give or take. There are different triggers that tell her when to release that yolk. One is that the yolk should be released about 20 minutes after she lays the last egg, if she lays an egg a day that next day. Light is a trigger so the egg should be laid during the day instead of at night when the next she is on the roost. I'm sure there are others, there always are.

Most hens tend to lay the egg an hour or so later each consecutive days. I've had some, one my only green egg laying hen at the time, that laid every day before 9:00 A.M. or she would not lay at all that day. She'd lay 8 or 9 days straight before she skipped a day. So while most tend to lay a bit later each day, some don't. As you will find out, they are all individuals in many different ways.

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

 

[staceyj]

This pattern is correct give or take.
Every chicken is different.
Mine do as you described laying later and later in the day. Then they’ll take a day off.
I call it a re-set day.
When the resume it is early in the morning again.

My guess is, you have a new layer.

 

[LittleMissCountry]

Mine tend to be more around 24 hours. They seem to lay almost at the same time each day, always before noon. However, when they first started laying, it was completely random.

 

[GC-Raptor]

My 5 Golden Comets would lay before 9am daily for a week and a half or so before skipping a day, their first year.
I have 3 left at 28 months and 1 retired from laying 4 months ago.
Of the 2 layers they sometimes lay after 9am. But never later than 1pm. Today I found 1 at 9am and another at 10:30.
They have cut back to 6 a week, then skip a day.

They are sex-links type of chicken and are very Proficient, but can have health problems or retire early.

I have decided to go with a Breed of chicken this time.
I can let you know if a Purebred chicken is on a different schedule. My first breed of Chicks (Barred Rocks) are 5 days old. I hope they start laying in January.
Check back in February.. If you want. GC

 

[aart]

Here's away to tell....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/
Pretty accurate when a new batch of pullets are starting to lay.

Welcome to BYC!
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[FlyingNunFarm]

I found this video about how an egg is made very interesting.

The article aart linked is a great way to tell. I check pubic bones on pullets I’m waiting on to see how it’s going. The looks I get from the girls are worth the piece of mind.

 

[aart]

I love that video!!
Have been pasting the university link for years, lost it a while ago(U took it down) then found it again on youtube.

 

[TheLittleFarm18]

Incredible video! Thanks for sharing