FRESH EGGS !

One of the most exciting aspects of raising chickens is collecting all those lovely eggs each morning! It will take some patience though, it is normal to take anywhere from 4 months to a year for chicks to start laying. Egg laying depends on the breed  traditional egg production breeds such as leghorns and rhode island reds etc. usually start laying around five months old. The first few eggs will probably be relatively small and random, but it won't be long before your hens get into their rhythm. A flock of 8 hens of should average 4 or 5 eggs a day (sometimes more).

For commercial purposes laying hens tend to be given around 2 years to produce as many eggs as quickly as possible and then get replaced but with good care they can lay up to 4-5 years.

Do not panic when you see your hens loosing feathers it is called Molting and usually happens in the fall , they dont tend to lay well while molting but will resume production when molting is finished ( about 2 months ) and they will not all molt at the same time.
 In winter or excessive cold the reduction in daylight hours can cause chickens to slow down their egg production (a heat lamp in the coop can help minimise this).

Make sure to give yours chickens plenty of fresh water and feed to help keep them healthy and laying well.

Nesting boxes do not have to be fancy but they will want a place to lay there eggs, boxes should be off the ground as a chickin is a bird and they like to roost too !

Having fresh eggs is a wonderful thing, healthy and fun too, unless you are making hard boiled then you may want to use some that are not as fresh !   ~ Windy ~