Mid day layer

[sarahdell]

Hello! I have a question about my newly laying hen. She has only laid twice but I've noticed she lays between 2-5pm. She, along with the rest of the flock have been in the coop an run 2 days this week all day, those are the days I got eggs in the coop. The neighbors dog was here those days, an their beagle loves to chase them, so for their safety they were not let out. Any other day they are in the yard sun up to sun down, they put themselves to bed every night. So after that spill my question is, will the hen return to the coop to lay or will she lay in the woods? An, can you train a hen to lay at different times? I just don't want to loose eggs to the 3 miles of wooded area around my house nor do I want to keep them in lock down. Any advice would be wonderful!

 

[boskelli1571]

Hi there, A hen will generally lay an egg roughly every 25-27 hours. So each day will get a bit later until a day is 'dropped' altogether. You say she is newly laying, so give her some time to get her 'equipment' going....do you have any reason to believe she is laying in the woods?
Be careful with that Beagle - they are hunting dogs, they can chase down and kill rabbits - I know I have 2. Mine are well-behaved with the chickens, do not chase and will protect them, even so, I would not trust them with baby chicks, it would be too tempting.

 

[sarahdell]

I dont trust their dog with them, never will. She is new to laying, she has laid 2 eggs so far. I guess I'm wondering if she would lay in the woods? Or if she was in the yard would she go to the coop to lay? I dont know if she has laid more than what she has put in the coop or not.....

 

[sjturner79]

Chooks will try to put all thier eggs in one spot for at least a month at a time, so you can expect her to lay in the coop for now. If you go 3 days without and egg in the then she has decided to do a nest elsewhere. If you then lock her in for 3 days again she will return to laying in the coop.

 

[sarahdell]

Awesome thank you!! With her being a new layer is it normal for her to go 3 days with out laying? I have tons or books, an I've done research but can never find detailed answers!

 

[ChickenMammX4]

Mine are just starting to lay and not really sure how many are but...egg 1, then 4 days later egg 2, then 3 days later egg 3, then 2 days later (today) egg 4. All were laid mid-day. Hopeing to find an egg tomorrrow! Now, if she would just lay in the nesting box instead of on the poopboard

 

[sarahdell]

Did you try golf balls in the lay box? I tried it an it really does work!

 

[ChickenMammX4]

Did you try golf balls in the lay box? I tried it an it really does work!

Yes, there are golfballs in the nesting boxes.

 

[ELSweet]

4 of my 6 hens started laying a little over a week ago. Only one of them lays by 10am...the rest are usually between 2 & 5pm. I thought it seemed kinda late, but I don't really care...I'm just happy to finally be getting eggs! haha!

 

[ChickenMammX4]

1. 
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Mine are just starting to lay and not really sure how many are but...egg 1, then 4 days later egg 2, then 3 days later egg 3, then 2 days later (today) egg 4. All were laid mid-day. Hopeing to find an egg tomorrrow! Now, if she would just lay in the nesting box instead of on the poopboard

Finally an egg in the nesting box e and it wasn't in one of the boxes with the golf balls :/

There are three nesting boxes, one with no golf balls, one with one golf ball & one with two golf balls.

ETA: The egg was laid midday, somewhere between 3:30 & 4:30p