How do I get my chickens to lay jumbo eggs?

If you start to raise chickens to be more self-sufficient, you want them to be as productive as possible. But what if they aren’t laying as many eggs as you’d hoped?

The most common reasons that chickens aren’t laying eggs is because they are too young, too old, the hours of daylight are too short, it is molting or the feeding is not of sufficient nutritional value. You might not be able to affect those first points, but you can help contribute to a stress-free environment for your chickens while keeping them healthy and well.

Chickens will typically lay one egg or less during a day and that will decrease with age. Their egg-laying years will typically last for 2-3 years.

If you are experiencing a low yield of eggs from your chickens, check out these tips below to see what you can do to help them lay more eggs.

2. Clean Nests Boxes
One of the most important factors to helping chickens lay eggs is a clean nesting box area with comfortable bedding. You can also make a soft surface with recycled-newspaper pellets which also are easy to toss and replace.

3. Open Areas
The idea behind free-range chickens is that if they are more comfortable, they will produce more healthy eggs. While free-range chickens might not be a possibility for some urban homesteaders, it’s a great idea to have a larger area with enough area for the chickens to graze on a lawn while still being protected from hawks or other predators.

4. Calcium
Egg-laying takes a lot of calcium from a hen’s body. Be sure to provide them enough calcium in their diet to keep a steady flow of eggs. Besides a high-quality feed, you might consider mixing crushed oyster shells in a cup of of feed. Or even placing a cup of oyster shells in the coop for the chickens to eat when they need it.

5. Inspect Regularly
Try to handle your hens often checking for problems. If they have large cuts, broken bones, etc. it will give you a better idea of how you can help. Are they uncomfortable? Have they been pestered by predators? Handling your hens on a regular basis will help you know how to best help them.

6. Coop Security
Along with the previous point, make sure your coop is secure from predators. Make sure that animals like raccoon's, cats and other animals can’t burrow or find their way into the coop.

7. Fresh Water
To stay healthy, chickens need constant access to water. Change the water every day. It might be a chore to do it every day but it will lead to healthier chickens who will lay more eggs.

8. Parasite Control
Parasites love to prey on chickens. Mites are the most common and can take control of your coop without you even realizing it. Make it a habit to inspect your chickens at night when mites are most active. Mites are small, reddish-brown insect that scurry around a chicken’s head. If you do have a mite infestation, use a dose of ivermectin (available from a veterinarian) for each chicken.

What Have You Found?
How have you helped your chickens lay more eggs? Comment below to help us know what we can do to make our chickens more productive. Explore more DIY possibilities and get the supplies you need to enhance your preparation.

A:

It is not likely that the problem is overfeeding. We recommend feeding free choice and not limiting their feed: underfeeding usually causes more problems than offering extra.It is rare for a layer to overeat ("meat" birds like the sickly Cornish Rock crosses are different, and often overeat). If it really concerns you, you might cease fatty treats, or perhaps double check the protein level in your food. Around 16% protein or so is good for layers, so if your protein level is higher than that, you might switch to a slightly lower protein feed.

For the most part, though, egg size is genetically determined and won't be affected very much based on eating a little more or less on certain days. Specific breeds lay large or extra large eggs, while others lay small eggs. The egg size a hen lays has to do with the size of the shell gland and ratio of the length of the magnum (where the albumen is deposited) to the whole length of the oviduct.

It does occasionally happen that a hen may have an egg that is too large for her and get egg bound, but often egg binding can be caused by a deficiency in calcium (causing hypocalcemia or tetany) or phosphorus (which helps with calcium metabolism), not by eating too much. Chickens that don't get enough exercise or that are excessively fat may also have issues with egg binding, so be sure to offer them plenty of space in their run to roam and exercise.

Another thing that can cause issues is simply the fatigue of the muscles associated with laying (or possibly a deficiency in magnesium, which helps these muscles work). This happens when chickens don't get their natural seasonal break or slow down in laying, so be sure to allow your hens to have their natural winter break or slow-down, rather than keep them under artificial light to increase laying during the cold months. Additional problems with large egg size may be caused by nutritional imbalances relating to methionine or linolic acid. Unless you blend your own feeds, this shouldn't be a problem with any commercial brand of feed.

Remember, though, it is quite natural for a hen's eggs to grow larger over time. The first eggs a young pullet lays will be small (by comparison with the average for her breed). They grow larger as her system gets into the swing, and sometimes eggs don't reach their full size until after the first molt. Occasionally a capillary will break as she expels the egg, and in most cases this isn't a problem, although it isn't ideal. If there is a large amount of bleeding, you should be concerned and consult a veterinarian. We are not vets, and can't diagnose the problem. If you do continue to have issues with bleeding, you should consult a vet to get a firm diagnosis and treatment options.

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