How many chickens are laying?

[kwestley]

Ok, so I have 8 chickens and they are around 25 weeks old. I am pretty sure that at least 5 of them are mature! But the maximum of eggs that I collect everyday is 3!!! And it alternates between 3 eggs and 2 eggs everyday!! I don't quite get it?!?!? Does it mean only 3 chickens are laying?

 

[Wyandottes7]

Five birds might be laying, but they aren't all laying on the same day. Chickens often lay every other day, especially in the fall in winter. So, three birds might lay one day, and then the next day, two other birds lay. The day after that, the three birds will lay again.

You'll probably start getting more eggs when spring comes, as the daylight hours will begin increasing then. Chickens don't lay very well in the winter because they don't get fourteen hours of light a day.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Could be, or pullets that aren't commercial egg laying breeds don't always lay everyday. Also some of your breeds are going to be on the slow side to start laying, Brahmas are slow maturing, EEs can really vary, would expect your BSLs have started laying and your orps and BR should be soon if they haven't already.

 

[aggiemae]

You didn't mention the breeds but lots of healthy normal hens aren't laying at 25 weeks and with the days getting shorter some of yours might not lay till spring. We have 8 hens, four hatched last April and four March 1st of 2013. One of the 2012 hens, a Wellsummer, didn't lay until she was 11 months old and one of the 2013 hens was 6 months old when she laid her first egg.

By September all eight hens were laying though some of the "fancy" hens only lay every 2nd (or 3rd) day. We were getting 6, sometimes 7, per day in August but we are down to 2-3 per day now. This past weekend, all at once, 4 hens started molting so we probably won't get more that 1-2 eggs a day for a while.

What I am trying to say is that it might take longer than you want but all your hens will eventually start laying but even then for one reason or another the number of eggs you will get on any given day will vary greatly over there egg laying years.