My April-born Golden Comet Mrs. Garrett started laying September 15th and has blessed me with an egg every day since. She is the only one of my pullets currently laying. Her first egg came in the early afternoon and she has been laying earlier and earlier every day since. My morning ritual with the girls consists of me waking them up around 7:30 when it is considered light out by opening their coop windows and turning on a very dim light. I give them their feed and water and return to let them out about a half hour to 45 minutes later. Yesterday morning between the time I woke them and letting them out Mrs.G had laid her egg. This morning at 7:30 when I turned their light on I did a quick scan of the roosts, did not see Mrs. G and as I was starting to go into panic mode I saw her stand up in one of the nest boxes and saw a freshly laid egg underneath her. What will happen in the coming days when she gets the urge to lay, which according to the rate she's going will be in the wee hours of the morning? Will she hold it until day break? Will she wake up to lay or will it just fall out of her while she's roosting?
From my understanding it takes a hen 26 hours to lay an egg however that might be different since she's a production. Chickens can't see in the dark so she will probably skip a whole day without laying an egg and then lay the next day early in the morning.
I find some of my birds lay increasing later in the day until, as Wyatt0224 says, they have a day off, and lay very early the following morning and others that lay almost as regular as clockwork. Since she's new to the laying game, you could well find the odd egg under the roost, but I doubt it will be a common occurrence.
I had a Gold Star hen. She was also the first of the cohort to lay. She often dropped an egg from the roost. Her eggs were gigantic and when she laid it took about 15 minutes or less on the nest versus hour or more of sitting by the other hens. She would pop on the nest, lay and pop off to play - often no egg song! She died young of unknown cause - just found her laying dead and had been happy and active that day.
My girls lay eggs at all hours. When we close the coop up at 8 p.m., no eggs left to collect as the girls are finished laying by 5 p.m. In the mornings while it's still dark out (6 a.m.), we'll open the coop and find a few eggs in the next boxes. No rhyme or reason, they lay when they feel like it.
Thanks for the info everyone! I will put a little extra bedding under the roosts tonight in case she plops one out in her sleep. Same here, ceceuu: in and out of the box in a flash and no egg song! I have read the hybrids have a shorter lifespan, unfortunately. Mrs. Garrett is my favorite. She's calm, friendly and very intelligent.
