4 Nest Boxes, 11 Chickens; 5 or 6 laying; Now Egg on Ground?

[AppleMomma65]

My chickens are 23 weeks old and I think 5 or 6 are laying - have been for +/- 4 weeks. Mornings are noisy with the "egg song" and the impatient calls of "Lay your %$#* egg or get off the pot! - I gotta go!" I let them out of their coop to free range about 9 a.m. and can go back about 11 or 12 noon and collect eggs - 1 or 2 eggs in 2 to 3 boxes. Chickens free-range most of the day. Today - I found an egg on the ground where they were free ranging. Will their "time" to lay eggs change - meaning change so that they all don't need to "go" at the same time? What do I do about the egg I found on the ground? I have no idea who laid it.

 

[JaeG]

One of them must've got caught short and laid it where she was at the time. Sometimes that happens, especially with new layers.

It takes around 25 hours to form and lay an egg so it tends to get later and later each day until there's a reset, but it's different for each hen and especially when their systems are new to the process it can be a bit random.

Often they will like to lay in a particular box. Ours all like the same box and if it isn't free they'll go and lay in the corner of the coop. Some birds like to sit longer on the nest before they actually lay which can hold things up as well.