Laying every other day

[Slindsa3]

Hey everyone! I have been reading BYC posts for about a year but never created a account. Most of my questions were answered in others posts but I have some of my own now! I do apologize if you see my name often I have five hens that are almost 6 months old (RIR, black sex link, barred rock, EE, buff orp) I got my first egg a week ago from my black sex link and every other day since. Just wondering if that is normal? I'm completely new to chickens and always thought they laid every day... Also will my others start laying soon? I've gotten a taste for homegrown eggs

 

[mertzy1963]

Hey everyone! I have been reading BYC posts for about a year but never created a account. Most of my questions were answered in others posts but I have some of my own now! I do apologize if you see my name often I have five hens that are almost 6 months old (RIR, black sex link, barred rock, EE, buff orp) I got my first egg a week ago from my black sex link and every other day since. Just wondering if that is normal? I'm completely new to chickens and always thought they laid every day... Also will my others start laying soon? I've gotten a taste for homegrown eggs

I'm new this year too, and so far my 5 lay every 24 hours, so that being said, sometimes its only every other day....

 

[BoyTheRooster]

If they're only just starting to lay they won't lay every day until their a bit older. When pullets (young hens) first start laying you'll only get eggs every other day (or less), some of them might be very small or oddly shaped while the girls are getting used to producing eggs
Even once they starting laying properly, they might not lay every day. Some breeds don't, or they might lay for 5-6 days in a row then skip a day. It's different for different breeds.
Maybe look up your specific breeds to find out their yearly egg production?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Hens who don't have production backgrounds or DNA will usually lay every OTHER day if that often. Look at it from the hatchery's point of view. If a hatchery involved with the pet chicken or farm hobby industry sold you a sure enough rooting tooting laying hen, then you may just go into competition against that hatchery. Therefor little or no thought goes into the blood lines of these hens and roosters. But a lot of thought and propaganda to is involved when said hatchery or others try to convince you that egg laying is unhealthy or not in a hens' or a roosters' best interest.

In their salad days my black breasted red game hens only laid about 30 to 45 eggs per year, but once they began to lay they cranked out an egg each and every day just like clockwork. Laying every other day will result in a clutch of only 6 or 7 eggs every 14 days. Eggs that are older than 15 days old don't hatch reliability so if a hen only lays once every OTHER day she can never hatch enough chicks to keep her species or "Breed" alive. This is even more true when the high mortality rate of free range baby chickens is figured in.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Very normal. Even production birds such as yours dtartvout in high and miss fashion as their systems get the hang of making eggs. Frequency will regulate and a regular production pattern will emerge for each hen eith your girls likely to average 5+ eggs per week eacg

 

[jthornton]

I have 9 RIR's and when they first started laying at 18 weeks old the first two laid pretty steady each one only skipping one day in two weeks. Each time a new one would start to lay it would skip a day then lay then skip then start laying every day. By week 22 all 9 had started laying. Some would still skip a day even now at week 27. I did get my first large egg this morning at 57g.

Edit: could not figure out how to do strike through font for the medium much too early lol.

JT

 

[aart]

I did get my first medium egg this morning at 57g.

57g is 'Large'.

 

[jthornton]

57g is 'Large'.

LOL I got it right on one post.

JT

 

[chonsey]

I'm in SE Michigan, not enough daylight, yet. You can put a light on a timer to give them more daylight that may help egg production. I used to have an Australop hen that laid eggs almost every day even in winter and I got the chick from a feed store (left over from someone else's order). I just started using Manna Pro that has Omega Egg Maker that may help boost your egg production & quality, also. I got it to help give me healthy eggs for healthy chicks for the Easter hatch!

I have a opossum that comes around every couple of days and is scaring my hens - they do not lay when their feathers are ruffled. It just killed my new 4 mth old Jersey Giant Rooster this morning when I was getting the water & feed ready. So I doubt I'll get any eggs today. I'm moving the live trap today to try and relocate it to the wooded area at the back end of the acreage to deter it away from my coop.

 

[jthornton]

I'm in SE Michigan, not enough daylight, yet. You can put a light on a timer to give them more daylight that may help egg production.

If you add light do it in the morning not at night unless you have a clever light that dims slowly over a 30 minute time to simulate the setting of the sun. Chickens need time to get to the roost and gradual darking is their clue. It does take quite some time for the added light to make a difference. At this time of the year I wouldn't bother adding light as we are approaching 12 hours of daylight and getting longer each day.

JT