What time do chickens lay eggs??

[RuneChromium]

The times that hens lay their eggs depends on your timezone and your breed. I have a USA Central timezone and my hens lay at noon (sometimes one egg in the night). If you want exact timing it's best to find out yourself!

 

[katekearby]

that's an interesting take on it. I just am waiting on the first egg. the girls appear much more mature now, their combs are growing and getting redder.

 

[RuneChromium]

That means they are getting ready to lay. I wish you good luck with your flock!

 

[bruceha2000]

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

Brave indeed brave if they are wandering around a 1 month old. Or did you get them at Easter but they were already a couple of months old? 4 weeks isn't even "fully feathered, ready for the coop" age.

You might want to explain to your grand baby that there won't be any eggs until the middle of September. Not sure how you convey that 'too far in the future to even make sense' to a little one. But you won't be putting the fake eggs in the nests until then either. Maybe if you have him/her help make the fake eggs and use the mis-matched plastic Easter eggs, that will set the real vs fake difference. I get white, a variety of brown shades and a green from my girls but they have never laid a purple and yellow egg

Bruce

 

[phaatnsassy]

One of my girls does not like to stay in the coop. The others peck at her all the time. If I let them out to run in the yard she will socialize a little with them but there are times when she runs away, or jumps up on my shoulder to get away. Any way I have a box set up for her and she will always go there to lay her egg. The others always go back to the coop to lay theirs. From what I can tell the girls will get use to laying in a certain area and always go back to that area to lay.

 

[Mah1Mah1]

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?

My girls go to bed on their own, they are so well behaved, im so proud

 

[katekearby]

My bedtime is before theirs and I like them locked in the interior coop at night. If I wait til dark to go out and shut the door they are all in. Wonder what chickens in Alaska do? When the days are so long?

 

[sdmorris]

My chickens follow a 5-6 day cycle.
At the beginning of the cycle, they lay early to mid-morning. Then each day they lay 1-1/2 hours later than the day before until, by the 4th or 5th day, they lay mid-afternoon.
On the last day of the cycle they don't lay at all, starting a new cycle on the following day.

 

[katekearby]

My chickens follow a 5-6 day cycle.
At the beginning of the cycle, they lay early to mid-morning. Then each day they lay 1-1/2 hours later than the day before until, by the 4th or 5th day, they lay mid-afternoon.
On the last day of the cycle they don't lay at all, starting a new cycle on the following day.

That sounds like the cycle the old Vet was talking about, is this cycle for the whole flock or per each individual hen?

 

[bruceha2000]

My girls go to bed on their own, they are so well behaved, im so proud

Mine do as well. Even though it is light until about 8:30 now (when the photo sensor triggers the coop door to close) they are all in before 7. It might be because the coop is in a barn so it is dark in there earlier than outside. I would think that, like kids, they would stay out until it got closer to sunset. I guess they know it is darker in the coop and that is where they want to be before it gets hard to see.

If I go down to give them their night time scratch (food, not scratches behind the ears

) late, they will come off the roosts to get it. If I go early, they are more than happy to get locked in the barn as long as they get their scratch. Of course, once they finish their scratch and find the doors closed, they might NOT be happy, but I am not there to hear them complain if they aren't.

One of my girls does not like to stay in the coop. The others peck at her all the time. If I let them out to run in the yard she will socialize a little with them but there are times when she runs away, or jumps up on my shoulder to get away. Any way I have a box set up for her and she will always go there to lay her egg. The others always go back to the coop to lay theirs. From what I can tell the girls will get use to laying in a certain area and always go back to that area to lay.

What kind of chickens? I wouldn't get Anconas again because they pick on the other girls. Don't know if another would take over as "top hen" and pick on the rest if I didn't have the 2 Anconas or if they could just be the boss without having to prove it all time.

My bedtime is before theirs and I like them locked in the interior coop at night. If I wait til dark to go out and shut the door they are all in. Wonder what chickens in Alaska do? When the days are so long?

You must go to bed pretty early!

My chickens follow a 5-6 day cycle.
At the beginning of the cycle, they lay early to mid-morning. Then each day they lay 1-1/2 hours later than the day before until, by the 4th or 5th day, they lay mid-afternoon.
On the last day of the cycle they don't lay at all, starting a new cycle on the following day.

Are they all the same breed and if so which breed? The only way I can think of for an entire flock to be so regular is if they ARE all the same breed.

Bruce