Chickens

[AbbyRoze]

My Husband and I are new to chickens, we have 3, 2 white leghorns and 1 Rhode Island Red Rooster.

we are trying to learn about how to do this.
we just started gettings eggs this last 2 weeks, and our question is maybe rather stupied but here it goes.

How many eggs does a chicken lay a day ?

reason for this question is yesterday and today we got 2 eggs
so is both hens laying or just one ? the 2 eggs are always in same nesting box.

Thanks <font color="blue"> </font color> [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Bird]

It may be possible that there are exceptions, but in my experience a chicken only lays one egg a day, so I'd say both of your hens are laying. As for being in the same nest box, I don't think there's anything unusual about that.

[AbbyRoze]

thank you so much for the information

Abby

[Boondox]

In their first year of laying, you'll get about an egg a day per bird, though that drops off with age. Also, when the bird moult don't expect much. My wife has a really informative Webpage for chicken people you might find useful. Check it out at Tamara's Chicken Page

Pete

[AbbyRoze]

thanks so much for your help
checking site out now

Abby [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[JoeR]

I think it is every 26 hours, and they only lay with daylight. When the days get shorter, production drops off unless you provide artifical light. Some of the most common questions are:

1. Do you need a rooster to get eggs. No
2. How long does it take for a fertilized egg to hatch: 21 days

Good links:

Poultry Link
Chicken breed chart

More chicken information

Factors that affect egg production in backyard flocks

[AbbyRoze]

how do you tell the sex of a chicken, when they are chicks ? is there a way ?

Abby [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[AbbyRoze]

Thanks so much for all the information, this site is great, people are so friendly.

Abby [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[JoeR]

No easy way that I know of... Unless they are sex-link breed. In that case, the yellow ones are roosters, and the brownish peeps are hens.

There is a way when they are in the egg, but I haven't been able to do that either.

Joe

[JoeR]

Oh! One other thing. Rhode Island Red roosters and Polish breed rooster can be very aggressive. Once they start attacking you, they never get nice. At some point you will need to mentally prepare for this. If you have small children and the rooster starts to get aggressive, don't wait to deal with the problem. Rooster spurs can badly injure and kill a child. I had one Rhode Island Red rooster that was beautful! He started getting aggressive with the adults, and we ignored the problem. Then one day, my 3yr old was on the swingset and he attacked her unprovoked. Knocked her down, and left scratches all over her back. My wife's maternal instincts kicked in and she made him dinner. Therefore, you must mentally prepare to deal with this problem if it occurs. Either you give the rooster away, or make him food. We only classify roosters two ways: A nice rooster, or dinner.

Joe