Chicken Egg Laying

We have looked at how to make Chicken laying boxes or a Chicken nest, but sometimes we have problems getting the quota of eggs we require from our birds. Under ideal conditions a Chicken will lay an egg nearly every day. However conditions are not always ideal and however many books on Chickens we may wish we had bought, if you don't own a good book on raising Poultry then I will try to cover the subject for you here.

Chicken nesting boxes, as we have seen can be fancy or they can be homemade and quite basic. For Hen laying boxes we can keep it quite simple if we wish, the Chickens spend minimal time laying their eggs and it only needs to be functional, although those who are keeping Pet Chickens may have an eye on the aesthetics of the Chicken Coop as well as wishing for a good and regular supply of eggs. Chicken laying can be interrupted by quite a few different external factors and we will be looking at them in detail. A Chicken nest is seldom the cause as long as the laying boxes for Hens meet some basic requirements.

Chicken Stopped Laying?

There are a number of factors that can effect Chicken laying. The main reasons are:

• A Shock


• The Age of the Hen


• The amount of daylight available

This is by no means a complete list but these are the main reasons why a Hen may stop laying. Housing Chickens, as with their Hen laying boxes, can be simple or more involved. Again, as long as they have some relative comfort the Chicken Coop is seldom the factor that will make Chickens stop laying. As long as it is not too cold and you provide a few Chicken laying boxes it is normally one of the above factors that will cause a Hen to stop laying.

There are a few things we can do to keep Chicken laying problems to a minimum. We cannot always do anything to help but for a few of the reasons behind Chickens not laying we can do something to help.

A shock or a fright can cause a Hen to stop laying. If it becomes scared or something new and out of the ordinary happens within its environment then it may stop laying. This could be for a day or sometimes it can be for a week or two.

What can we do if Chicken laying stops because of a fright?

We need to try to ensure that it does not happen. A fright can be caused by a Dog trying to attack the Hens, adding new stock to their environment, thunder and lightening or any number of causes that are seen as upsetting to our birds. To minimise the problem we should always ensure that Dogs and other animals have no way of getting in to the Chicken laying area or anywhere near the Chicken compound. The area should be well secured from animals and if we can keep all other wildlife away from the Hens then they will be much calmer. There are other ways that shock can stop birds laying, the weather is pretty much out of our control but should never cause more than a day or two without laying.

Adding new Hens to an established flock can be a problem. It is never recommended if possible as it can disrupt the flock. The Chicken nest may be ignored for a few days if new additions arrive. To minimise this try keeping them separated by wire for a week or so. They can gradually become accustomed to each other without any bullying occurring and it should minimise Chicken laying interruptions.

Chicken Egg Laying Video


The age of a Hen is the deciding factor when it comes to egg laying. Chicken laying has a finite time span. All Chickens have a predetermined number of eggs that they will lay throughout their life. They will lay the majority of them within the first two years of their life. So you better have a sturdy Chicken nest if you are going to keep your birds for the rest of their lives! They will continue to lay for years but the number of eggs they lay in any given week begins to decrease dramatically after Chicken laying has passed the first few years.

If your Chicken is approaching two years old then there is nothing you can really do to increase egg production. It is simply the Chickens age that is causing the Chicken laying to decrease. The solution? Well, you can keep Pet Chickens. Keeping Chickens as Pets is one option or culling is the other. You will then simply need to replace the birds with point of lay Hens.

The other main way why you will see a reduction in egg laying and what many books on Chickens will tell you, is the lack of daylight. When the days become shorter most Chicken Laying will be reduced. If the weather is cold then this will become more severe. Chicken nesting boxes will have little to play in this cause. They could be very comfortable indeed but a Hen laying box will make no difference if the daylight hours are short.

There is a very simple solution if Chicken laying has decreased as the hours of light do. You simply need to increase the hours of light to a more suitable duration. The simplest way to do this is by simply providing artificial light to improve Hens egg laying. A medium watt bulb will probably be sufficient in a small space. Increase the amount of light so they have about 14 hours of light and you should see a return to an egg being layed almost every day. This is a simple but effective technique if you have seen a drastic reduction in Hen laying because the days have become shorter.

Hopefully these few tips from "Chicken Nesting Boxes" will see you getting more eggs each day than you possibly eat and return the Chicken laying to a more regular routine.