How long does it take a hen to lay?

[irishcowgirl]

I'm not talking about how long it takes their bodies to make the eggs, just how long it takes them to lay after they sit down in the nesting box and start trying to lay.

 

[ginbart]

I hope you get an answer to this I'd like to know. I can never tell with mine.

 

[cterbizan]

honestly however long they please. I have hens that well lay in the nesting box and lay within 15 mins I have others that will get in the nesting box and get out without laying and go back within a range of 1 to 5 hours to lay. I am not positve but I know the hens that have been laying for a while are the ones that take only 15 mins and the younger ones are the ones that take longer. So I am not sure if there is an actual time lenght. I only think that time may get shorter the more they age. I hope I helped.

 

[gryeyes]

Gosh, it depends on your hen, really. The PROCESS of laying lasts less than one minute. Hanging around ahead of time, or afterward, is purely optional and up to the pullet or hen.

I've copied this from another source:
Section of oviduct Approximate time egg spends in this section Functions of section of oviduct
1 Funnel (infundibulum) 15 minutes Receives yolk from ovary. If live sperm present, fertilization occurs here (commercially produced table eggs are not fertilized)
2 Magnum 3 hours Inner and outer shell membranes are added, as are some water and mineral salts
3 Isthmus 1 hour Albumen (white) is secreted and layered around the yolk
4 Shell gland (uterus) 21 hours Initially some water is added, making the outer white thinner. Then the shell material (mainly calcium carbonate) is added. Pigments may also be added to make the shell brown
5 Vagina/cloaca less than 1 minute The egg passes through this section before laying. It has no other known function in the egg’s formation

Hope that helps!

 

[irishcowgirl]

Interesting... I was wondering because I wanted to put my two girls in their run, but Windsor hadn't laid her morning egg yet. When I went to get them, she was in her box clucking away.
Didn't want to move her... didn't want her laying an egg in the run. So I came inside, posted this question, surfed the web for awhile, and checked again (maybe an hour later?) and she was out.
Checked the box and there were two eggs!

They love surprising me. For a while I thought Gertrude was the one laying in the morning/early afternoon, but today both did lol.