what time of the day do your hens lay their eggs?

[lonelychicken]

Got my first 3 eggs yesterday ffrom 5 hens - but I know 2 of the girls are still very young like 12 weeks and not read to lay yet. I went out this am all excited and NO EGGS - have to tell you I was crest fallen - opened up the coop gave them their treats for the day and went back to the house. Checked again right after lunch and had one Egg - under the roosting pole again but at least it was there. normally I only spend time with the grls in the AM and PM and sometimes during the day when ever I go to harvest the garden.

First since this is early days of laying eggs can I assume that they will not at first lay an egg every day? and second how often do you check for eggs?

thanks bunches - love this forum

 

[Lots A Cluckin]

maybe someone was playing a trick on you...12 weeks is REALLY early for a pullet to start laying...or maybe they are older than you think....do any of the have big bright red combs...if not them someone is most likely tricking you....my Red Sex-Link pullets started at 16 weeks...now I have 10-12 laying pullets and they lay all day from about 7am to 4-5 pm...it take approx. 25 hr. for a pullet/hen to produce an egg so every day the time she lays will get a little bit later until eventually it is dark when she is ready to lay...so she just holds the egg for the next morning...that is why some days you might not get as many eggs as the last.

 

[bargain]

My hens are all different on their laying....A few want to lay an egg at daybreak, some early morning and I have some evening (after dark layers) I try to discourage that but the hens are not listening:}

 

[Lots A Cluckin]

cool something new learned...I did not know that they laid after dark.

 

[bargain]

I know who's doing this so I put her in the nest at night. Otherwise, there would be a broken egg under the roost

 

[Pullet Surprise]

Mine lay about an hour (at least) later each day up until late afternoon and early evening, when they get to that time period they "hold it" until early the next morning and having skipped that day, start the cycle all over again.

 

[Den in Penn]

When mine first start to lay they do lay any time of the day. But so far they have always settled in to finish laying by 3PM at the latest. 12 weeks is very young to start laying. Did you count the weeks right?

 

[lonelychicken]

OH I don't think the 12 week old girls are laying - sorry for the confusion - I think its the 20 week old girl and the 2 18 week old ones I was just suprised to have 3 the first time and then only 1 today - but now I know that I need to check several times during the day I won't be worried any more - just let nature and time take their course - thank you all for your reples, I definitely learned something new - I thought they would all lay first thing in the mornng! llol