What time of day do your hens lay?

[BWchicken]

I have 12 bantam pullets (various breeds) almost 21 weeks old and we got our first egg today! It was perfect, very light brown, nice shape, and a hard shell even though they're still eating grower with no extra calcium. I did put out oyster shell after finding the egg though. I'm so proud!

Anyway, enough bragging! I don't know who laid it, I suspect one of the barred rocks but I really don't know so I want to catch her in the act. I found the egg in early afternoon, I spend a lot of time with them every afternoon but obviously the egg was laid before that. So what time of day should I be out there watching for them to lay?

Thanks!

 

[sonew123]

all mine used to lay before 9 am-now I have to collect all day even at 7pm! The light changes and winter has really screwed them up-egg pickups are at 7:30 am-4pm 7pm beofre lights out.. goofballs oh and I have 30+ hens

 

[Big Red Hen]

When I was getting 5-7 eggs/day, my girls were laying between 11am-12 noon... & sometimes around 2 or 3.
Now with 1 only laying, I get that one at around 12 or so.

 

[chickenshagg]

I have one that lays as early as 6 am and the other lay sometime after that but usually by noon. I know though that they are on their own schedule and will lay when they are ready and not by any clock or predetermined time.

Congrats on your first egg! I'm sure you will enjoy it as well as many more to come.

 

[Blueggchick]

Congrats on your first egg.

My chickens normally start laying by 7am, and are done by 4pm.

 

[Tala]

Their schedule seems to rotate. Since they lay every 23-26 hours (I think it is) it kinda rotates thourought the day.
I sometimes get 4 eggs by 10am, sometimes they don't lay em all till 3pm.
My Redstar laid one from the roost at dusk (around 5pm) - she is usually my latest layer, but I have gotten a brown egg by 10am too so ya never know

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
I have had the same experience with my flock. It takes roughy 26 hours to produce an egg, so I expect eggs a little later each day until it gets too late in the day; then they start all over again early the next morning.
Yesterday (Saturday) all the eggs had been laid by 9 AM, so I'll start looking for eggs around 10 this morning.

 

[JP33]

This is the routine. I let them out in the am somewhere between 6 & 7:30 all depending on how early I can get my butt outta bed, looks like tomorrow (I mean today will be late!)

After I've set them up with feed & some scratch & their bucket of clover/grass or whatever else I can come up with, they rummage around doing their chicken things & I do chicken tv.

Early morning is a lot of fun as I get to see who returns to the coop first to lay, usually Vera or Speckles, followed a bit later by Bertha or Hazel. If its really cold out things may get thrown off a bit & their schedule is altered such as yesterday & today.

If its warm I could get a bounty every day, cold, every other day.


...JP

 

[Dora'smom]

I have a wide variety of lay times, as well. Often we have one or two by 9 am, then in the early afternoon there are a couple, and in the evening we find another. I guess it all makes sense with the normal cycle for a hen.
Congratulations on your first egg!!! I remember the excitement of that first one. It was as if I had laid it myself! On the 26th we got our first green egg, and that was just as exciting!

 

[JakRat]

Mine seem to like to compete on who can lay first because they are all done by 9 am! and I hear them too... they like to let me know who layed first