Does Time of Day for Laying Become More Consistent?

[france]

Right now they have only been laying for a couple of weeks. I find new eggs at all times of the
day from 9am-4pm. I check repeatedly

I would like them to eventually free range and not
have to worry so much about fertilized eggs stashed around my farm and surprise chicks.
Will the time of day they lay become more consistent or will it always be random?

 

[obchix]

With a 25 hour cycle the laying will probably continue to be random.... Sorry. Mine free range and almost always go into the nesting boxes to lay their eggs. The only time so far that they didnt was when the wind blew their coop door shut. My bad!

 

[gritsar]

I've read many times on here that folks expect their eggs at a certain time each day. However it's my understanding that it takes roughly 26 hours to produce an egg. My hens have always followed the 26 hour rule. Most of my hens were busy in the nestboxes at around 1 PM yesterday, so I expect it to be closer to 2 today and 3 tomorrow. Once it gets too late in the day for them to lay, they'll skip over to the next day and lay bright and early.
My flock free ranges, but my girls always go back to the coop to lay their eggs. I've locked them in the coop for a whole day several times to make sure they weren't laying elsewhere and they weren't.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Quote:
Yup, it's the same for me.

 

[catdaddyfro]

Quote:
Yup, it's the same for me.

Yes mine too.

I get a chuckle on here just about everyday at the post on the How many eggs did you get today thread. Some of the posts are consistent about getting 100% production every day of the week for weeks on end. Sounds kinda braggy to me, maybe it's just me, especially this time of the year, most chickens are molting and the ones that are not in molt are young and probably not up to peak productuion yet anyway. Now, I've got some pretty good layers that I've developed over years of culling and selective breeding from the kinds of chickens that supposedly produce well, and it's been on very few occasions that I've gotten 100% in a days time much less all the time, even in the spring time when its the normal laying season for all birds, I get around 75-90% by the time you rule out cull eggs and the ones that are cracked/broken or hidden some where. Right now I'm doing good to keep my flock at 50% production as about half are in molt, some are just about 2 mos. into production and the others are dealing with cooler temps and shorter day light hours.

To get 100% production then hens are placed in ideal conditions for such production, such as: optimal temps, very good feed rations(not the kind you get at the local feed store), lighting so such and such hours. They're more or less just little programed robotic egglayers with a beating heart.

I'm just saying if they are getting that kind of production every day on the money, that I want to know where they got their hens and what they are feeding, I'll be doing some switching myself. Ive had layers for 25 years and was raised on a broiler farm, but I'll still take some one elses lessons on farming anyday over mine if its a proven method that is more productive. Now I'm talking backyard farming not commercialized methods.

Anyway I've probably upset some here but I'm just telling from my experiences and most others that I know and have heard from, so don't take it to heart remember to each his own and happy farming.


catdaddy

 

[gritsar]

Catdaddy, I understand where you're coming from. I have one hen that lays every day and continued to lay every day, even when she was molting! Very unusual for a brahma. I've been told I should use her for breeding and hope that she passes that trait on.
The rest of my hens? An egg every other day, sometimes two days in row; an average of 5 eggs a week for each hen.

 

[Plain Old Dee]

I don't know about anyone else, but my hens have never learned to read a clock. When we had laying hens years ago, we got into the habit of checking for eggs several times a day. In the hot Oklahoma summers, eggs can spoil really quick. Or the hens could start eating the eggs. Or something else gets in there and eats the eggs (snakes and rats).

I don't mind going down and checking for eggs, and neither does my DH. For us, it's almost like Christmas - Did Santa come yet?

 

[catdaddyfro]

Quote:
Yes I've had some eceptional layers also and have heard of an extraodinary few layers that produce everyday for some time. Some of my layers I have now are out of a NH hen that the d...mnd roos tore her back up and she laid quite a few days in a row but she would eventually take a day off to regroup then back in buss. again for a while so I hatched quite a few chicks from her eggs.

So yes gritsar I agree, about 5 eggs a week is a good average for most backyard layers, and that is very unusual for a Brahma, good girl, wish some of my production hens would take note of that.

france: give those gals a couple o'months around feb going into march and look out they'll show you consistency I guarantee ya that.