Chickens lay on a cycle, and it isn't a 24 hour cycle, I've heard differing hours, but 28 hours seems to be the consensus. So, day by day, they get later and later and then run into nighttime - I think the cycle reset with nighttime. Some mornings when I go in there after a 'slow' day I'll find all kinds of eggs early on, that's the day after 'reset'.
12/14 yesterday, that's a big day for me now!! This is their second laying year, and those eggs are huge now!
Ann, I told my wife what you said. I said "yeah honey, they just needed to reset themselves"
We had a good laugh!
Now they are laying hard again, of course after "the reset"
26 eggs out of 33 hens. Oops, that was day before yesterday. Today, 36 eggs, which includes yesterday's eggs too. DS too lazy to get them yesterday. Its a good thing I have one HUGE nesting box (cantalope crate filled with pine shavings). No eggs anywhere else but in the nest either.