All About Layers – Egg-Citing Times
When your chickens begin to lay eggs, it’s an eggciting time with lots of questions. We are here to help with 5 eggcellent questions we’ve received from customers. And yes, we will lay off all the puns right after we eggxecute this top 5 Q&A list!
Egg Laying – Top 5
1. When will my hens lay their first egg?
a. Most hens will begin laying their first egg at around 18 - 24 weeks of age. Some birds who enter maturity in the fall and winter will not begin laying until spring.
2. What do I feed my laying hens?
a. If your chickens are over 18 weeks of age, now is the time to switch them to NatureServe Layer Pellets. Laying hens need special nutrition and NatureServe Layer Pellets feed is specifically formulated to accommodate the complete nutritional needs that hens need for the nutritionally demanding job of producing eggs. NatureServe requires no added calcium sources and delivers complete nutrition with the added benefits of flaxseed for eggs enriched with omega-3 fatty acids and marigold for rich, dark yellow yolks.
3. How many eggs will my chickens lay?
a. Hens will lay an egg almost daily after they reach maturity with most laying approximately 250 eggs per year in their first couple highly productive years.
4. How long can I expect my hen to lay eggs?
a. Most hens have two highly productive years of egg laying that you will see taper off as they age. The breed of your hens, environment, nutrition and management all play key roles in the egg producing game. In general, we see a mature hen laying approximately 250 eggs in her first year and a reasonable expectation 600- 1,000 in her lifetime.
5. How often should I collect eggs from my chickens?
a. Daily. Ideally, eggs should be gathered twice daily, and even more often during warm weather. Gathering eggs frequently lessens the possibility of hens practicing the bad behaviors of egg cracking and eating. It also helps to keep eggs clean and reduces their contact with bacteria load in the environment.
Enough with the formality…we’ve created a list of our favorite egg puns for use in your everyday conversations. Get Eggcited and happy egg laying!
1. Eggxtra
2. Eggcellent
3. Eggxactly
4. Eggciting
5. Eggstravagent
6. Eggsplosive
7. Eggxtreme
8. Eggsaggerate
9. Eggstatic
10. Eggxercise
11. Eggceptional
12. Eggxecute