Egg laying "cycle" question

[newchickmomma4]

Good morning everyone, I am a new chicken momma. Adopted 4 2 year old hens in March and have 4 two week old chicks. My question is this, everything I've read in the books say that it takes 26 hours to develop an egg. But so far haven't really seen 26 hours between eggs. Eggs get laid around the same time each day. Is this normal or are my ladies doing this because they are older?

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Good morning everyone, I am a new chicken momma. Adopted 4 2 year old hens in March and have 4 two week old chicks. My question is this, everything I've read in the books say that it takes 26 hours to develop an egg. But so far haven't really seen 26 hours between eggs. Eggs get laid around the same time each day. Is this normal or are my ladies doing this because they are older?

In young pullets, they generally lay every 25-30 hours. And, they usually come out around the same time. But, I've noticed in my three year old hens, they lay whenever in the day and generally skip a day or two. So, it really varies from chicken to chicken.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It takes ABOUT 25 hours for an egg to go through the hen's internal egg factory. About, not exactly. Some people will say about 26 hours. Some hens take less, some take more. It really does vary between chickens.

That happens a lot, and not just on this forum or this topic. Someone will say that a breed tends to do this, or that chicks normally start to do that about a certain age. Someone will read that and not notice it is an approximation, and post it as an absolute fact. From then on it is repeated as an absolute. A myth is born and will never die. That's probably what you read.