There are a number of things that affect when your chickens lay their eggs. This means you don't know exactly when to collect your eggs. But with a little information, you can make a pretty good estimate of what time of day they will be lying around and plan your collection appropriately.
How light exposure affects egg laying
Light is the trigger for thisthe formation of an egg beginsinside a chicken. Once that process begins, it will take about 26 hours for the egg to be ready. About an hour after the chicken lays that egg, the process begins again, provided there is light to trigger production of the next egg.
Most hens lay within six hours in daylight or artificial light. The production of chicken eggs depends on light. They need about 14-16 hours of light per day for their bodies to form an egg. If they receive less light, for example in autumn or winter, when the days are shorter, they lay less often and may not lay at all for a few months. Chickens are sensitive to both the duration and intensity of light. Although they will lay less often in winter when there is not enough light to initiate egg production, the time to make the egg will be the same length as in summer, about 26 hours, if there is enough light to process.
If they are very cold in winter, they also stop laying to save energy. Laying an egg requires a lot of energy and nutrients. Poor nutrition is another reason why chickens sometimes stop laying eggs or lay eggs less often.
Will chickens lay eggs at night?
If the egg is gone during the night, the chicken will start laying first in the morning. Chickens are busy sleeping at night and they don't wake up to lay an egg, but gather the strength and energy they need to lay the egg in the morning.
With an average production cycle of26hour you will see that your chicken does not lie at exactly the same time from one day to the next. In fact, they will lie for a few hourslater every day. Because their reproductive cycle is activated by light, they will eventually lie down so late in the day that it will not be light enough to start a new cycle. In this case, the next egg will not begin to form until the next morning. This means that eggs are not laid until the next day.
Differences in oviposition between breeds
Some chicken breeds lay more eggs than others. Laying hens are bred to ovulate more often than other birds, which means they produce eggs more often. Breeds that lay less frequently do not take longer to form an egg, they just wait longer between ovulations.
How many eggs do chickens lay per breed?
Breeds that lay up to 300 eggs per year.
- Leghorns
- Rhode Island Reds
- Australorpen
Breeds that lay up to 250 eggs per year.
- Plymouth versperde rots
- Orpington
- Jersey Giant (This breed is usually bred for meat due to its large size.)
Not all chickens lay so many eggs. Breeds such as Japanese bantams and silkies are mainly kept because they are cute and lay fewer than 100 eggs per year.
Can the color of eggs be an indication of the laying time?
Some scientists were curious if there was onedifference between the time the egg was laid and the color of the egg. They found that white eggs were more likely to be laid in the afternoon and brown eggs in the morning.
At what age do chickens start laying eggs?
Most chickens start laying eggs when they are six months old. However, this can differ per breed. Somebreeds will start laying eggsup to four months old. Early-laying varieties include Plymouth Barred Rock, Rhode Island Red and Cinnamon Queen. Chicken breeds that are dedicated to laying eggs, unlike meat-producing birds, are more likely to start laying. Broiler chickens, such as the Jersey Giant, still lay eggs, but they don't start laying until later, about the full six months. There are many breeds that lay their first egg anywhere between four and six months of age. There are many other factors that can influence how quickly chickens lay eggs.
Because light affects how often chickens lay eggs, it also plays a role in when they first start laying eggs. For this reason, when it is summer and they are about four months old, chickens will start laying eggs much earlier than when it is winter and they are about four months old. Even an egg-laying breed can wait until about six months of age in winter, when they are old enough to start laying eggs.
What you feed your chickens also affects how quickly and how often they lay eggs
Making an egg requires many nutrients. If a hen doesn't have enough nutrients in her diet to support egg laying, she will start laying at an older age and lay eggs less frequently, giving her body time to get the nutrients needed to maintain egg production. to lay an egg. There are many healthy ways to feed a chicken. You can buy formulated foods (like Purina), mix your own foods, or add a few extra supplements. Whatever type of food you choose, here are some of the most important things chickens need to lay eggs early and often.
- Oyster shells - It is very important that chickens are fed a diet rich in calcium. Next to their food, fill a bowl with oyster shells. They will not eat more than they need and this will help them get the calcium they need to form the eggshell.
- Fat chickens are omnivores. If they have free range, they eat a lot of insects, which gives them a high protein and fat content. A simple way to ensure they get enough healthy fat is to add some black sunflower seeds to their diet. They don't need much of it; just throw some out as a daily treat or mix some into their food.
- Grains - The basis of a chicken's diet consists of grains and seeds, which they eat directly from the ground while foraging. Grains and seeds support the energy needed to lay an egg.
- Dried Mealworms – This is a high protein treat for chickens and they love it. You don't need to add them to their food, but you can throw away a handful each day to increase their protein levels.
You may not need to supplement if you buy ready-made food, but not all food is of high quality. Although they all provide basic needs, not all of them provide an optimal diet for your laying hens. If your chickens haven't started laying yet, or don't lay often, you can try adding these supplements to see if it helps with egg laying. When choosing a formula, read the ingredients and nutrition label carefully. Most do not contain oyster shells, so you will probably have to add them to their diet separately. Also keep in mind that some chicken feeds are formulated for meat birds and these feeds do not support egg production. Be sure to choose a feed designed for laying hens.
Chickens are more likely to lay eggs when they are happy and healthy. If your chickens are stressed for any reason, egg production may stop. This stress can be caused by a predator attack, the death of another chicken, or physical stress caused by mites, worms or infections. The best way to get chickens to lay eggs again is to make sure they are physically healthy, give them some nutritious treats, and give them time to recover from the stress.
Ultimately, chickens lay eggs when the egg is fully formed and they are awake. The cycle to make an egg takes about 26 hours, so you won't get your eggs at the same time every day. Although you can find a few eggs in the garden every morning, you can also find eggs in the afternoon. The best time to collect your eggs is as soon as you see them. This might mean collecting a few in the morning when you open the farm and collecting more in the evening when you close the farm for the night.
