About laying Hens
A few laying
hens can
provide ample eggs
for the average family – plenty for breakfast, baking and even the
occasional quiche. Even if your family doesn't eat many eggs each week
currently, you may find that that changes when you are raising laying
hens and have a fresh, steady egg supply from your own little
flock. Hens
and chicks are a picturesque image, but if keep in mind that if you
plan to eat all your eggs, you won't see that familial scene in your
own barnyard.
Want
to see what our favorite birds loook like? Check
out the Top
5 Laying Chickens page for photos and descriptions of the
best layers -- and why we picked them.
It is often difficult to find laying hens
for sale simply because once people
put the effort into raising chicks they are loath to part with their
best
laying hens. If you don't want to raise chicks, or want eggs
more quickly than the months it takes chicks to mature, it's
best to buy pullets, which are young hens, less than a
year old, within a few weeks of laying or have just begun laying. You
may find older hens for sale, but they likely won't lay
well and may be best for the stew pot. (See “how
can you tell if a hen
is old” to learn more.)
When you do find young egg
laying hens for sale, the
cost will generally be about
$8 to
$15
each depending on your location
and
availability. When you first transition the hens to their new home,
they may stop laying for a few days or even longer. Thus it is best to
buy pullets that have not yet started laying in order to minimize
interruptions in their laying cycle.
While all hens lay eggs, there are several top egg-producing chicken
breeds to consider when purchasing your laying hens. There is no
particular breed that makes the best egg
laying chickens for beginners,
but some may be more appealing to you based on coloring, egg color,
size and other aspects. When choosing breeds of egg laying chickens,
don't be afraid to pick a variety that you like based on its looks—in
the end, the chickens you choose are often a matter of preference in
addition to practical concerns such as laying statistics.
After acquiring or raising your laying hens, ensure that they have
clean, cozy laying boxes in which to nest. Bedding or straw should be
put into the boxes and changed when overly soiled. When a hen lays her
first egg she might not even realize what's happening and lay it as she
walks along. After a few times, she catches on and will begin to lay in
a more regular fashion. You can encourage her by putting a false egg
(such as one made of marble or glass) in her nesting area. She will
think it must be a safe place to lay an egg, and soon your laying hens
will be trained to deposit their eggs in the same spot. But keep an eye
out, as some renegade hens like to lay outside the nesting boxes or
away from prying eyes – and hands.
Collect new eggs daily to prevent loss due to cracking or even eating
by over-zealous or curious chickens. And in case you've ever wondered,
check out our page about what's
inside a chicken's egg for piictures and diagrams.
Go back home to Egg Laying Chickens or check out other chicken-related resources online:
Best Coop Plans:
How to Build a Chicken Coop - detailed plans and construction guide for making backyard coops.
These chicken coop plans and building guide are the best I've found, and purchased them myself to build our first coops. There are five different chicken coops included, beginning with the most basic double-story ark and culminating with the largest design, the Chicken Barn with attached screened-in chicken yard. I want to use their plans again for their largest chicken coop, the chicken barn, when we are ready to upsize our chicken flock's habitat. The coop pictured here is a medium-sized all-in-one design.
Recommended Chicken Books:
- Homemade Living - Keeping Chickens: All You Need to Know to Care for a Happy, Healthy Flock by Ashley English
- Storey's Guide - Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow
- Barnyard in Your Backyard - A Beginner's Guide to Raising Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Rabbits, Goats, Sheep, and Cattle
Favorite Chicken Quotes
“ A chicken you eat only once — eggs a hundred times." ~ Tajikistani Proverb
“ You cannot cook one half of the chicken and leave the other to lay eggs." ~ Sanskrit Proverb
“ You don’t have to kill the chicken to get eggs." ~ French Proverb
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Recent Articles
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Portable Chicken Coops
Portable chicken coops are ideal for backyard farmers. You can keep a small flock in a small amount of space and then move them around. The mobility is helpful in several ways.
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Taking Care of Baby Chicks
Learn how to care for baby chicks before you pick up the box of chirping peeps from your post office or feed store. Raising baby chickens is not difficult, but it does require attention to detail, a few hours' work when you first receive the new chicks, and daily efforts to ensure your chicks have the best start.
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