How To Get Your Chickens To Lay More Eggs

If you own chickens, you will agree with me when I say that you can have fresh, high-quality eggs almost at will.

When you have chickens that will lay more eggs in a comfortable and loving environment.

I like to call them containers full of goodness.

It’s needless to say that few foods contain the kind of nutrients that eggs do, and having good quality eggs to eat is beneficial to your overall health.

You can tell if an egg is of the best quality, when you open it up if the yolk is not so yellow it’s not the best.

When the yolk of the egg is nice and yellow you know that you are eating the best eggs available.

And what you feed them will determine how good quality their eggs will be, too if they are a bit on the not-so-yellow side, it’s time to start giving them better food.

Make sure that they get their greens as well from the leftovers in your kitchen.

If you know how to raise chickens, they will lay eggs, irrespective of whether they are fertilized or not.

So no rooster needed.

Producing eggs happens naturally in a chicken’s body.

However, there are external factors that can reduce their ability to produce eggs.

The good thing is there are a few things you can do to increase the number of eggs your chickens lay.

Here’s how to get your chickens to lay more eggs:

Have Comfortable Nesting Boxes To Lay More Eggs

Provide your chickens with nesting boxes and make them as comfortable as you can.

Fill them with hay and have a depression at the center of the box to make the chickens feel comfortable when sitting on them.

Yet they will still make the nest comfortable on their own by scratching around, it’s just how they do it.

If your chickens feel that they’re in a safe place it goes without saying that they will produce more eggs.

As they are not stressed.

And I have found that if you buy a dummy egg and put it into a nesting box, this will also encourage them.

See also Keeping Chickens During Summer And Winter - What To Look Out For

Providing Warmth

Have a few heat lamps placed around the nesting boxes is not a bad thing especially if you live in a cold climate. Ensure that they’re turned on low heat.

Also, make certain that the boxes are warm by keeping making them not too big, so as to entice the hens to lay eggs.

An open large laying nest is not going to make your hens feel as comfortable as a snug nesting box.

Fluorescent Lights

Making your flock lay many eggs means that you need to get creative.

Attach fluorescent lights to timers and set them to turn off and on for twelve hours at a time.

Have them on during the normal daylight hours and keep them on the power off mode during the night.

There are places where the light factor is not always the same, so keeping the light regular will keep your chickens laying the same throughout the seasons.

Place them so that they can distribute the light evenly in the coop.

Indeed, you will have replicated day and night and this will create an environment that will allow your chickens to consistently lay eggs.

This tip is especially workable during the cold winter months when it gets darker earlier.

Collecting Your Eggs Routinely

Make sure that you collect eggs for the coop every morning and make it a routine.

Leaving the eggs to stay for long periods of time in the nesting boxes may make the chickens want to hatch them, even when they’re infertile.

This is a process known as brooding, which makes the chicken stop laying eggs.
Yes!

Like it or not you will get broody hens who will want to sit on the eggs and for a hen to see a batch of eggs, gives them ideas.

There are certain breeds of chicken that will go broody more than others.

Be Patient With Your Chickens

The quest on how to raise chickens also calls for some patience. Patience goes a long way as with anything…

See also Easter Egger vs Ameraucana: Understanding the Differences

Maybe the reason that your chickens are laying few eggs is that they are not at their prime age of laying.

Allow the chickens to be at least sixteen to twenty-six weeks before you can realistically expect them to start laying eggs.

As a matter of fact, they may start laying the eggs a little later, but you’d be disappointed if you expect them to start laying many eggs before they’re sixteen weeks old.

Feed Your Chickens Well

If you feed your chickens on cheap, usually low-quality food, it may lead to a dismal or complete non-existent egg production.

What goes in also comes out.

Do you want your chickens to produce more eggs?
Then feed them right.

Research has shown that corn, starchy feeds, and oils can lead to a reduced egg production rate.

Knowing how to raise chickens means that you give the foods which will supply them with all the needed nutrients this not only ensures they stay healthy but increases productivity as well.

Once in a while, feed your chickens some crushed oyster shells or shell grit that you can get from the feed barn to increase calcium intake, which is very crucial in egg development.

Give them A Lot Of Water

You may not know it, but chickens require a consistent supply of water to remain healthy and productive.

Check water levels every day and be sure to replace the water in case it’s dirty.

If you are just filling a container with water, you need to make sure that they have knocked it over or that dirt gets into the water.

There are automatic waterers and non-automatic chicken waterers you can buy. Don’t always rely on just a bowl of water especially if you are going away for a few days.

Getting your hens to lay more eggs really comes down to how you look after them and if they’re not laying too well, whether they’re moulting or it can be the light factor or stress.

Look into it and just be patient with them.