Egg laying during the day? Establishing pecking order?

[JessWebb]

A few concerns about my new little flock...

It seems that at least one and maybe two of my chickens are laying right now and they mostly do so mid-morning. I thought they mostly laid eggs at night but maybe I just assumed!

Also one of the hens is very dominant - she seems cranky and will dominate spaces in the coop/run and not let the other two near. Sometimes she even parks herself right inside the coop door and will not let the other two in to roost. Last night I saw the other two crowed on the gangplank in front of the door. Maybe this is why my Wyandotte lays in the morning - because Daisy (the cranky Chantecler) will not let her in the coop? I am new to this! Thanks!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Chickens will never lay at night unless by mistake they let one slip from the roost. They're night blind so once they roost at dusk, they don't move. They won't eat, drink or lay eggs till dawn.

It takes about 25 hours to build an egg. The next ovulation won't happen for at least an hour. Therefor it's usually every 26 hours or longer between eggs. So, they'll be laid all hours of the day but counting the eggs that would be laid at night and are held till dawn, it seems that most come in the morning.

Pecking order dictates that one will be dominant, one will be submissive and the others will fall in line in between.

Make sure there are 2 water and food sources so she can't keep them from eating and drinking.

 

[JessWebb]

So fascinating! I did not know any of that! Thank you for the info and advice! It is such a learning process - I literally learn something new every day!

Should I move the roosts back from the door so that they have to move farther in? I just want them all to be comfortable - not just Daisy : )

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Roosts, nests and door should be situated so they don't have to walk under the roost when they come in to lay so they don't track feces into the nests.
Roosts need to be significantly higher than nests so they don't sleep in nests.

 

[tfalls3]

i didn't know it takes 24+ hrs between eggs. I'm on day three of my first hen laying, she's starts at 3:30pm and is always finished by 4pm. She hasn't made a peep(haha) till finished. Then she sings her egg song, today everyone joined in. She comes from where ever she is in the yard and runs like crazy up in the coop and right in the nest box. toady the rest of the flock waited on the deck with me, they were pacing like waiting outside a delivery room should i expect her to start laying later in the next few days. she's the only layer so far, i have 2 hot on her tail who jump in the nest boxes after she's finished and sing the egg song like they did something and bug me till i go check even though theres nothing there.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They usually try the nest out for size for about a week before they start laying.

The following times are approximate but when a mature follicle is released from the ovary it enters the infundibulum and spends 15 minutes there. If the hen has been mated, that's one of the sperm storage points and the egg will be fertilized there.
Then the yolk spends 3 hours passing through the magnum where the inner and outer membrane are added as well as some water and salt.
It then spends an hour in the isthmus where the albumen is layered around the yolk.
Then it enters the shell gland (uterus) where it will spend 21 hours. More water is added making the outer albumen thinner and then the egg shell is formed and pigment added.
Once it passes from the uterus, it's only about a minute before it is laid.

http://www.afn.org/~poultry/egghen.htm

http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/avianreproduction.html

The egg song is a throwback to their days as jungle fowl. When a hen goes to the nest to lay, the rest of the flock continues to forage. When she's done, she calls out "hey, where are you guys?" They answer back, "here we are". I've heard roosters lost from the flock do the egg song.