When do chickens lay?

[Alexandra317]

Great info! Thank you! So bottom line is ... they lay when they lay!

 

[TERRY4]

Great info! Thank you! So bottom line is ... they lay when they lay!

Pretty much so! Lol.. Our girls haven't been laying a month yet and just yesterday got up to 5 eggs. We have 6 pullets. Here they start about 8:30 a.m. or so, and yesterday ended up around 4:00 p.m. or so. And as I have read, they seem to be on 25 hours cycles.

 

[PastorLarry]

I have Two Rhode Island Reds and two Barred Rocks. One Rhode Island started laying about 2 1/2 weeks ago and one Barred Rock about a week ago. Why are the other two not laying?

 

[TERRY4]

I have Two Rhode Island Reds and two Barred Rocks. One Rhode Island started laying about 2 1/2 weeks ago and one Barred Rock about a week ago. Why are the other two not laying?

It depends on each chicken. I have 6, and not all started the same time, and a couple not even close to the others. But they are finally laying. It took about 3 weeks or so. So be patient! Plus, you might think not all are laying, but they are, just different times and not every day at first.

 

[TERRY4]

Here's one of our girls on the nest now. As I type I can hear her cackling. That will be your clue something's going on. With so many laying now I do leave them alone until later on though.

 

[mollybuck]

I cant wait for this! i hatched my own chicks the end of may, so they arent ready yet... but I took in 4 black astralorps and 3 silkies from a friend who was moving and they are 6 months old now. The ladies (as we call them because we cant tell them apart yet!) are starting to talk more.. and the faces are turning red. They were when we took them in a month ago, but with the move and adjustment...i think they stalled and it does helped that we culled a bunch of the boys, things seem much more mellow and the red is comin back!

 

[Bens-Hens]

Ours are new to laying, and to begin with were a bit all over the place. We now have more regular morning laying. Last night, right on 'bad time' our Barnevelder pullet decided it was time to lay her first egg. It was a soft shell and broke during the process. I was amazed she left it until dark!

We also have 6 pullets hatched at the same time, some are laying and some are not, even three are the same breed from the same parents. They are spread over nearly a month between when the first one laid and now, the last is still to give up her first egg.

One trying I have learnt with chickens, you can't rush most things, nature has to take it course, from hatching to feathers to sexing to mating to laying......just have to take it as it comes.

 

[Lois Little]

When do chickens lay? Whenever they want to.

I check the coop about 10:00 a.m. and find from 0-4 eggs. Then, they just come a few at a time throughout the day. Seldom find any after 3:00 or so, but that is not always the case. Once in awhile there will even be one in the evening. It's a good thing to check several times a day if you are able, because some chickens will peck a hole in the egg(s) and then eventually they get it open and eat it.

 

[optimom]

Mine each seem to have their own time. I have one that lays around 9 am and one that lays sometime between 3 and 5 pm. The rest are somewhere in between. I usually check for eggs twice a day now (lunch and dinner time) because I have an egg eater and I don't like to leave them that long.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

The wrong question was asked. The question should be, "At what time of day does one specific chicken begin laying and at what time of day each succeeding day will this same hen lay?

I was taught that a hen chicken usually begins laying @ about 10:00 AM standard time give or take an hour or two, and then everything being equal that same hen chicken lays a little or maybe a lot later each day until she gets so far behind with her laying that she actually is forced to skip a day.

Then she will start laying again @ about 10:00 AM the following morning. Of course there are going to be some days when our little red hen lays twice in one day but hey, nothing is perfect, right.

Is this a hard and fast rule? Why heck no it is not a hard and fast rule but as far as I know it is still the only rule that we have.