How often do they lay?

[Phisch]

With longer sunshine hours, I know hens can lay more than once in a day and at least one of ours does. But how does it work? Do they lay one after the other or does she lay one, wait 8 hours and lay the next?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It is technically impossible for a hen to lay 2 fully formed eggs in a day as it takes about 24 hours for them to apply the shell to an egg. People claim they get 2 eggs a day occasionally. I personally have never experienced it.

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

It is technically impossible for a hen to lay 2 fully formed eggs in a day as it takes about 24 hours for them to apply the shell to an egg. People claim they get 2 eggs a day occasionally. I personally have never experienced it.

X2

 

[A.M. Eggs]

Do you have more than one hen laying?

 

[Phisch]

Looks like we have at least 4 laying then! The buff orpington are hard to tell apart and we have two ameraucanas that look identical. So two of them are laying as well.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I've had a chicken drop 3 'eggs' in one day in a lay cycle. One normal two without shells just formed yolks with whites. She's still alive and well. But unless something goes very wrong most chickens lay once a day or every 14 hoursish of daylight.

 

[Phisch]

Thanks for the replies, all. This is our first flock of twelve so it's been fun learning. Switching subjects slightly...

We took a little too long to build the nesting boxes for the girls. They're made with food grade, 5-gal buckets based on one we saw on this site. Unfortunately, we were a couple of days too late putting them up and the first hen started laying in a corner of the coop. She hasn't changed habits. The ameraucanas who started laying did it in a shed. Now everyone is in the coop for a few days so they know where to lay, in a general sense. But how to get them to use the nesting boxes? I'm willing to give up on them if they use the coop, but if they all pick the same corner of the coop, will that be a problem because all 11 have to take turns then? Will they make their own little corners to lay in?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Put fake eggs in your nestboxes, and block their chosen nest sites. I will use bricks, rocks or logs. They should look elsewhere and hopefully see the eggs which means it's a safe place.

 

[Phisch]

Put fake eggs in your nestboxes, and block their chosen nest sites. I will use bricks, rocks or logs. They should look elsewhere and hopefully see the eggs which means it's a safe place.

The fake eggs are already there and haven’t worked. We haven’t tried bricks so will do that.

 

[Azazan]

we have 4 hens and a rooster xD I collect eggs every morning and evening, unless the rooster started laying, we sometimes have 5/day. Actually we often have 5/day but usually, the 5th one has no shell...

I always find the last one during my evening check.