What time do chickens lay eggs??

[Our Roost]

Well, first off, chickens lay eggs from sun up to sun down for the most part including rain days. I find that after I have fed and watered them in the morning and maybe given them a few treats like bread broken up or a can of peas, they generally move to the nesting boxes not long after. I dont gather eggs until mid afternoon during the summer months because some of our girls lay in the afternoon if they have a mind to. Its good that you free range your chickens and yes they will lay eggs in the darndest places. Some have favorite spots and you will know exactly where to look for an egg once you find it. I am hoping you have a fenced in area so you dont explore too far in your search. A safe haven is a good idea if they use it and dont decide to spend the night in it and think it is a mini coop or new home for themselves. Generally if they are accustomed to the coop that is where they will retreat at night. Daylight savings time where we live can be troublesome when it is still light out at 9pm at night. Some girls like to stay up late and arise early. They dont always hit the coop when you are ready to lock them down for the night. I carry a spritzer water full of water sometimes to encouage them towards the coop door if they give me a hard time.Hope this little bit encourages you in your efforts.

 

[katekearby]

yes, getting them in the coop at bedtime is tricky. i usually put treats in to encourage them. Doc also said 16 hours of daylight and putting a small light in the coop might help them?

 

[adgcountrygirl]

I do use covered cat litter boxes for nests. I leave the coop wide open and they go back in to lay.
Generally they will lay 2 hours later than the previous day unless it is after 4 or 5 pm. They skip that
day and start over early the next morning.

 

[Our Roost]

katekearby, i dont know if you have electric wired in your coop but I use a night light, yes a night light! Cheap and inexpensive and it really comforts the girls at night and early morning more so in the winter months than summer but they quiet down much better with the small bathroom light on. I truly think they use it as an aide when finding their roosts to settle in for the night.

 

[bruceha2000]

yes, getting them in the coop at bedtime is tricky. i usually put treats in to encourage them. Doc also said 16 hours of daylight and putting a small light in the coop might help them?

It is certainly possible that having the same amount of light at the same hours of the day might make them 'regular'. I prefer my chickens to be natural. Has to be some stress on a bird to lay eggs every day, no breaks other than once a week when the 28 hours cycles around. In nature they would lay a bunch of eggs and sit on them for 3 weeks, then raise the kids before doing it again.

katekearby, i dont know if you have electric wired in your coop but I use a night light, yes a night light! Cheap and inexpensive and it really comforts the girls at night and early morning more so in the winter months than summer but they quiet down much better with the small bathroom light on. I truly think they use it as an aide when finding their roosts to settle in for the night.

They really shouldn't have light all night, talk about screwing up their heads. In fact, from my reading, if you are going to 'force' them, having a light come on before sunrise is the way to go, not extending the day after it gets dark. I have a light on for about an hour at dusk to make sure the slow ones have light to get up on the roosts since chickens don't see well in the dark. After that the only light they get is when the sun comes up the next day.

Bruce

 

[tmulleady]

Thanks I really had not thought about putting fence around the tank. LOL I have a couple of months before the start laying so I have time to get it done.

The one thing I have PLENTY of is shade trees in this yard so they are not going to be hurting for shade if I block the tank!

 

[tmulleady]

Thank you Bruce for the information. I must have some brave chicks because I have a huge yard and they roam all over it. The also will cross the fence into the cattle field behind the house but they never go very far from the fence. My girls are all easter babies so I have a while before they lay. When they first get in the coop at night, Little Bit (she is my smallest) will sometimes go over to the nest and lay down until all the big girls get arranged then she will climb up on the roost. So far I have not seen them get in the nesting box in the daytime but they do roam in and out if the coop some. I like the idea of putting fake eggs in there, just hope my grandbaby (who checks for eggs ALL the time) can understand that they are not real. LOL

 

[katekearby]

I think that's the idea that I intend is to get them into the coop to roost with some little light, currently i'm trying a little solar light that would barely take the edge off the dark and probably wouldn't last all night. These are the girls that have just been piling up at the coop door sitting on the floor at night?

 

[FrostBytn]

My first 6 chickens would lay eggs in the coop but roost in a tree at night.
Since then, I've learned to put them in the coop at night and after a few times they learn that is home.
Also, chickens detect light before humans do, that is why the roosters crow before it is light out.
I think, as soon as it is light, the chickens day starts ( egg laying, scratching, feeding and whatever they have planned).
I have collected fresh eggs at 7am and had chickens still setting at 3pm.
I have free range chickens that I lockup at night, some lay eggs in the weeds or in most any bowl shaped, secluded, covered area. When I find a nest, I destroy whatever makes it attractive to the ladies.
Sometimes if I have a lot of hens laying allover the farm, I keep them penned up until 2or3pm and then let them free range. After a couple of days they seem cured, but I also watch to see if there is something keeping them from the coop, like a dominant hen or a rooster that sets by the door waiting to do what roosters do.

 

[BunnyLover44]

I feed my chickens at 7-9 am they usually lay right after I feed them or 30 minutes later, some of mine are late layers so they lay around 1ish or 3ish, so I can expect all my eggs to be laid by 4ish. Hope this helps. But all chickens are diffrent

BunnyLover44