The Old Folks Home

[Bunnylady]

In about 20 years of rather haphazard chicken keeping, I have had 1 bird that I know was laying more than 1 egg per day. I had 2 "Pearl Leghorns" (which I assume must be a production strain of some sort) that were giving me 5 eggs in 2 days. Every morning I'd get 2 eggs from them, and every other afternoon I'd find another one. This happened through 2 laying seasons - these birds did go out of production during the winter. Eventually they were killed by a bobcat, so I have no idea how long they might have done this, or how else things might have progressed as they aged. (And no, of course I don't remember all of my chickens that well, but the extra egg and the unusual predator were pretty memorable, dontcha think?)

I don't think you are arguing that a chicken can't produce more than an egg per day, but that one person's claim of getting 2 per day per hen on a daily basis does seem excessive. But I think the point was made that this is so unusual that it stretches the boundaries of credulity (makes me want to check the calendar; I thought April first was a few days ago . . . . ) Time to move on.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I've had more eggs in the nest than hens but I usually attribute that to a leftover from the day before. If one has light in their coop or it is an extremely bright moonlit night, I can see them coming off the roost to lay at night. There just isn't room for more than one egg in the uterus and it spends about 20 hours there.

 

[CanuckBock]

I've had more eggs in the nest than hens but I usually attribute that to a leftover from the day before. If one has light in their coop or it is an extremely bright moonlit night, I can see them coming off the roost to lay at night. There just isn't room for more than one egg in the uterus and it spends about 20 hours there.

Straight up the only way a chicken hen may lay two eggs a "day" is when a day is 24 hours long and the egg process is 20 hours long.

Technically you would collect ONE egg immediately laid by a hen and start your 24 hour DAY of time clock ticking. Then you need to be back some time AFTER 20 hours (but not over the 24 hours to equal one day) has passed when that hen has done her 20 hour egg cycle to find she has laid two eggs in YOUR 24 hour cycle for a day.

ONE egg laid and then 20 hours to make another, that DOES = two eggs in a 24 hour day cycle, but the timing has to be impeccable for us cackle berry collectors to witness when our hens are capable of two eggs per 24 hour day. I too have had two eggs laid by my hens in a 24 hour of one day but I agree with CC that 20 hours is your average time period that a chicken hen needs to produce each egg.
My head hurts! I do believe I have not had enough java in me yet.

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[drumstick diva]

Good morning Tara

 

[superchemicalgirl]

My leghorns would get up in the middle of the night and be in the box laying before sunrise.
They are special birds.

 

[getaclue]

Well, I have normal lazy chickens that lay 1 egg a day, except during molt, when they taper off, or quit laying entirely. I have to add that I have a production hen that instead of being spent after about 2 years, is right at 4 years old, and still going strong.

Hi Tara, and once again CONGRATULATIONS!

 

[Latestarter]

I'm happy when I get a lot of eggs, and not so happy when I don't get a lot of eggs, and extremely angry when they lay eggs and then eat them themselves... Since I seem to have some extremely lazy birds among each of the 4 breeds I have, I have never received more eggs than chickens in any given day. Were I to do a total eggs laid vs total birds owned equation, it would show my birds lay an egg on average about every 3 days... or more... Hatchery stock, what can I say.

I think perhaps the poster is a bit confused as to total eggs she's collecting... like maybe counting each egg twice, once for the yolk, once for the albumin or something. I don't see how she could have 7 birds, all laying 2 eggs a day, every day. Maybe she should be reported to the egg police and be brought in for questioning/interrogation... Whatever... no sweat, no strain, no factor on my life.

 

[perchie.girl]

I'm curious for some feedback here.
The following thread started as a meat bird discussion but changed on post 18 with a couple people that are convinced chickens lay 2 eggs a day.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/917662/meat-bird-breeds/10

The one gal is bonkers..... the one with the Aseels made a point that it can happen.... I will assume that does happen occasionally. But I have only heard anecdotal stories about one egg laid in the morning and another in the evening.

At best with young hens i have gotten an egg a day for about five or six days and then they take a day off. But I havent had a lot of different breeds. ONly hatchery breeds from the feed store.

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low & Good Day:

Now with my second cuppa java in moi...I think maybe this explanation makes sense.

Looking over a period of one week...the hen's egg laying cycle is a 20 hour span per egger...seven days @ 24 hours...

HOURS IN A DAY for ONE WEEK
24 hours + 24 hours + 24 hours + 24 hours + 24 hours + 24 hours + 24 hours = 168 hours in one week of seven days


Looking over the same period of time, one week, there are seven days x 24 hours = 168 hours of time to make eggs in...

AVERAGE TIME A HEN TAKES TO MAKE ONE EGG
Sunday - 20 hours (spare 4 hours left in this day banked towards egg making)
Monday - 20 hours (+4 hours)
Tuesday - 20 hours (+4 hours)
Wednesday - 20 hours (+4 hours)
Thursday - 20 hours (+4 hours)
Friday - 20 hours (+4 hours)
Saturday - 20 hours (+4 hours)


Seven days & seven eggs with four hours to spare each day = 7 days x 4 hours = 28 hours
Over the span of one week...a hen banks up four hours per day towards making that "2 eggs in one day" scenario.


Total of 7 eggs for each day and hey, the hen has banked up seven days of 4 hours, so an extra 28 hours...good enough time to make one more egg and have an eight hour rest period...or bank the 8 hours AND in three weeks...add yet one more egg to her tally.

In three weeks an egg churning chicken hen would produce her 8 eggs per week and as bonus, one egg more for every three weeks...

In three weeks her grand total at a 20 hour egg making average in eggs is: 3 weeks @ 8 eggs = 24 eggs plus one bonus one = 25 eggs in three weeks

8.3 eggs per week​

Course we all know that things happen in reality to louse up 8.3 eggs per week for a chicken hen...the nests could be occupied, the time of day (night?) might not suit her...she may go setty, she may want a new suit of clothes (molting), she may want a rest to bank up her pigment reserves (those choco eggs get lighter after each egg laid in the laying cycle), or she may just go on strike for better feed, fresher water, or even jostling time over fighting to keep her top hen spot on the roost beside the rooster, eh.

Whatever the case, we get to know that a hen can lay potentially 8 and one third eggs per week...and in the case below, we then know how a hen could lay an egg per day, take a break and breather to mottle and restock & yet, look to be laying EVERY SINGLE DAY...an extra 66 eggs than days in a year leaves her with two months to get messed up in.

8.3 eggs / week x 52 weeks in a year = 431.6 eggs - 365 days = 66.6 eggs she coulda laid if she was a machine and not a living creature that needs rests and breaks from production.


World Record for hen laying eggs in one year...Australorp in 1902...364 eggs in 365 days

https://www.livestockconservancy.org/index.php/heritage/internal/australorp:
Hmm...them sure were the GOOD OLD DAYS, eh...when the Oz version of the Orpington kicked butt!

We won't do hatchery stocks...we conserve the oldtimer/old master breeder stocks...some with 65 years with one breeder and we've add our own 15 to 20 years of work into the strains for selections inr what we want (longevity, disease resistance, production, vigour, temperament before we even l00k at phenotype/shape and variety). Some lines here we can trace back to "Honest" John Kriner, the Senior (not the Junior), masters like Wallace, etc. The heritage stocks exist and those lines rock for the egg a day and more characteristics.


And yeh, I am THAT anal (oft called Golden Butt) when something like someone saying two eggs in a day and then the smoke starts pouring outta what's left of my grey matter...picks my craw!

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[vehve]

I've had a single chicken lay two eggs a day sometimes, but like all of you are saying, in the long run you won't get that kind of a output. I'm guessing that even with the most productive hybrid you can find, you won't average much more than one egg per day during a long enough observation period, like a year.