When is a chickens laying season

But if you collect the eggs daily, the bird will continue to lay eggs because its objective is to create a clutch, which is nearly a dozen eggs. Once the chicken has enough eggs, she will sit on them like other birds irrespective of the fact that they are fertilized or unfertilized. Usually, hens lay their eggs close to the eggs laid by other hens. Hens that are bred to have a long laying season can go on laying hundreds of eggs in a season while those who are not bred to be so would lay about a dozen eggs and only during the season in a year.

The reason why chickens lay unfertilized eggs is that the development of eggs and their exit is independent of fertilization. The eggs are developed before being fertilized. The chicken would not know right in the beginning whether or not the egg will be fertilized.

It has to keep growing the egg in the hope that it gets fertilized. In the wild, mating is more commonplace and most eggs end up getting fertilized. The chicken is biologically programmed to lay eggs whether they are mating or not, which depends on whether they have the company of a rooster or not. Its body has such a biological mechanism that it will take and pass an egg every 22 to 27 hours. This is not contingent on the fertilization status of the egg.

A majority of the birds would neither produce unfertilized eggs nor lay them all year round. However, the chicken is a domesticated bird that has been bred for thousands of years. As in the case of women, hens, too, have ovaries. They too have a menstrual cycle during which the ovary dispatches a yolk on the path that can lead to fertilization and reproduction. The yolk moves further and eventually becomes what is commonly known as egg-white. Usually, it would take about 26 hours for the yolk to become a fully formed egg in the uterus.

But some hens can make their eggs even faster. This process continues daily as long as the chicken is laying eggs. Collecting the eggs as early as they are laid helps prevent the hens from becoming broody.

In the wild, the hen has an abundance of food to keep herself full of strength and energy required for the egg-laying activities. There are enough male chickens to mate with and get their eggs fertilized. Before starting to lay the eggs, the hen meticulously creates a safe nest for the eggs — full of grass, leaves, twigs, and feathers. During the egg-laying period, the hen spends more time in or near the nest and when all the eggs are out — at most 14 at a time — the incubation period begins.

Over the next couple of weeks, the hen tries to maintain the humidity and temperature around the egg by carefully sitting over and occasionally turning the eggs with her beak.

During the incubation of the hatching period, she hardly ever leaves the nest. When chicks are well-formed and mature enough to come out of the shell, the hen can hear their chirps, though extremely feeble.

The chicks use a spur found on the top of their fledgling beak to break open the shell and come out. When all the chicks are out, the mother hen guides them to a source of water for their first drink. Now, she starts to train them in finding food and keeping themselves from predators. Over the weeks that ensues, the hen protects and nurtures the chicks selflessly. Compared to how they live and grow in the wild, the life of chickens in the factory farms is arguably pathetic.

These factories work on the principles of high volume and low cost which practically means a living hell for the birds. In contrast, how often do backyard chickens lay eggs? Backyard chickens have a better life as they have the freedom of moving around and finding their food. They also mate and lay eggs more naturally. They usually lay eggs twice a year and in many moderate quantities than their factory counterparts.

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Market breathes new life into an old farm. Keep chickens from crossing the road. Our 16 hens have slowed down egg production dramatically. We have 8 older hens and the rest are newer. We are only getting about 6 eggs a day. We are a family of 8 with 7 of us eating eggs. I think I will have my husband change the timers on the lights. We also use the red heat lights at night to prevent the freezing temps from freezing the water. We were getting an average of 4 eggs a day, then it dropped to two.

Then all of a sudden, none. At first we thought something was eating them, but there is nothing that could do the job without breaking something. They are not molting either. They are about months old.

What do you think the problem is? Should they be getting more food? We decided to go ahead and start butchering the ducks because of it. That and they are smelly and messy. Hi Rachel, If I remember correctly, your ducks were hatched this spring and started laying in late summer, early fall…is that correct? It would seem that they should still be laying. Is it possible that they will start going into a molt soon? After their age, the next thing to look at would be their feed.

I assume that they get a layer feed that is formulated for supplying the proper nutrition for laying hens. Ducks should have a higher protein content than chickens for their feed I give some split peas that I try to scatter out for the ducks while the hens are chowing on the laying feed …so they may not have had as much protein as they need.

Do you give the flock free choice feed? Do they get a lot of corn or high fat feed? It is possible that they could be getting fat. So if they are getting too much scratch or corn, that could be affecting them. Do you have the timer coming on for at least 15 hours a day?

If you lengthen their daylight hours by setting the timer to keep the light on for 15 to 16 hours a day, you should see an increase in production pretty quickly, if that is the issue affecting them. Put a pan of oyster shell in their coop to make sure they have enough calcium. Check to see if they have started hiding their eggs in a new place. Clean out the nesting boxes and add fresh straw or wood shavings. Check your birds for mites and check droppings for worms.

Spend a little time watching them to see if they are sneezing, lethargic, or acting sick in any way. You may want to consider a different breed. I hope that this helps. Let me know if you find a reason for the drop off and if they start to lay better again! Best wishes! Lisa, Thanks for your comments.

Our first batch of hens are approximately 14 months old. I am pretty sure the eggs I do get are from our newer hens which are approximately 8 months old maybe seven. The ducks are also that age. The egg disappearance is mysterious to say the least. One time, my kids who hate the ducks refused to bring in the duck eggs for about three day. They even proceeded to clean out the duck coop — leaving the eggs in! Then, three days later after they told me there were several eggs in there I assume ten I went out and found none.

I knew an animal had quite the feast. Not sure what animal. There were no broken eggs at all. We have had some eggs since then, but about a month ago — they stopped laying.

I looked for evidence of an animal. No windows damaged. We use an old playground house for the coop. Anyway, The feed I use is the same I have used from day one. I suppose I could buy some extra stuff to throw in. I feed my chickens leftover meat from the stew pot skin, meat, etc. I have heard in the old days it was normal to hunt an animal and feed it to the chickens for protein over the winter.

So, this is why I provide it. I have told my husband we need to adjust the lights for the hens. He said no problem.

So, we shall see what happens. No need to make their bodies work so hard and take calcium from the bones. Hi Deb, I understand. I made the decision when I started raising chickens, that they would not be pets, but rather livestock. So I try to keep my poultry project costs down. I know several people that use the lights during the winter but I let my hens rest during the winter months. I love having chickens on the farm for their eggs and their beauty!! Hi Country Girl, Sounds like you have an excellent system worked out!

The cost of organic feed is just too high to keep my older hens. Plus, I do like me some chicken soup! However, I completely understand how folks get attached to their chickens. I have a couple that will be really hard to butcher.

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