HELP free ranging chickens not laying in the coop

[MN-HappyChickens]

we have 9 barred rock that have been laying steady since oct. they are just a year old. we let them out in the morning and back at night. they love to roam. well late last week we only got 2 or 3 eggs a day--rather that 7-9. so i heard they may stash their eggs outside. we looked and sure enougth 16 eggs! so they were under a tree & tall grass in a cool shady spot. our days have been low 80's and 50's at night. how long are they good?

i think we will have to limit their 'outside' time.

 

[stuckinthecity]

keep them in their coop for about a week or so. all day or atleast untill about 1 pm. they will have to realize that their place to lay is inside the coop.

 

[Mahonri]

I agree... outside time should be limited.

I gave away a BR about 4 months ago. The folks I gave her to said she started laying outside, disappeared and showed up with 10 little chicks!... and I only had her with an EE roo for a short time before that! Guess he was good and I couldn't believe she went broody!

 

[MN-HappyChickens]

I have heard stories of a missing hen and then she appears with chicks. But we have no rooster---(and no neighbor chickens). I have so many people that have been egg buyers I just don't know if I dare sell these. Maybe I'll just keep them for me----I sell so many & I forget to save some for me.

Anyway if I keep them in their outside run & only limited evening free ranging, I should have eggs coming out of my ears again.

thanks

 

[Chicken Ninja]

how long are they good?

I assume you're asking about the eggs, whether or not they are safe to eat.

Consider this. When a hen is going to lay a brood of eggs to hatch, she lays the first and sets it aside. A hen will lay 6-10 eggs , then she sits on them all at once, so they hatch at the same time. If an egg is still fresh enough to hatch after sitting around for a week, then it should be perfectly fine to eat.​

 

[MN-HappyChickens]

Thanks, yes--I was trying to decide if the eggs were safe to eat. You have confirmed what I was thinking.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I keep my layers in the coop until about 2pm so they'll lay all their eggs in the nest boxes. Then they get the rest of the day off to go out in the yard. You could do that, or just note the location of their outdoor nest sites and collect the eggs daily from them.

If you ever find eggs and aren't sure of their freshness, you can do the float test. Get a container of warm water, a big jar or glass bowl, and place the eggs in it one at a time. If they sink & lay flat, they're good & fresh. If they stay at the bottom but one end rises higher than the other, it's not really fresh but could be used for baking. If it bobs to the surface, look out! It's an old egg!

As an egg ages its air sac expands. Fresher eggs = less air = sinkers. Older eggs = more air = bobbers.

 

[stuckinthecity]

i love stories about hens missing then they show up with chicks.
My grandmother told a story to me one time about a "domineckered leggern hen" (im assuming she meant a leghorn/br cross) that went missing for 5 weeks, then came back with 13 chicks. she got real close and whispered "We had LOTS of fried chicken that year"

LOL

 

[lovinlife]

I also keep my hens in the run (don't have a real coop, it's warm in Texas) until around 3pm and then let them out. I thought I'd try letting them out in the morning when summer started and I'm home all day, but egg production went waaaaaaay down. So, I keep them up until they've all done their thing and then let them out.