chickens usually lay in the morning right?

[HorseFeatherz NV]

My girls generally lay between sun-up and sun-down. I do sometimes find a perfect egg laid during the night - even from my older girls.

 

[abhaya]

well that kinda shot that Idea. I do not have a run for them and I am not gonna build one. They are young and I am not even sure if they are laying yet. with the short days and all. they are not squating but do have red combs and waddles. I just dont want to loose all my eggs to the woods.

 

[carrlr]

Here is what I would do if I were you. I would have at least one nest box for every four chickens. I have 11 girls and 4 boxes. I'd keep golf balls or glass/ceramic eggs in those nest boxes even after they start laying. Not all will start at the same time either. Once a hen is imprinted on where to lay it's difficult to change that habit. So, if it's in the woods, it will probably always want to lay in the woods. I'd also keep them in their coop until at least 9:00. Chickens lay an egg every 25-26 hours. So if they lay their first one at say 6:00 the next day it would be at 7:00 or 8:00 then the next day 8:00 or 9:00. After a certain amount of eggs mine will skip a day and start laying again earlier. I've yet to have a girl lay their first egg any later that around 9:00, but that might just be me. You can see my breeds in my signature block. Hope this helps.