People ask me all the time why chickens lay eggs daily and seemingly other birds lay them once or twice a year. Here is my answer!!
Chickens lay one or sometimes more unfertilized or fertilized eggs a day until they have collected a clutch. If you continually collect eggs daily they will continually lay eggs because their goal is to have a clutch.
A clutch usually is about a dozen eggs. She will sit on them just as other birds do whether they are fertilized or not. Most of the time hens will lay eggs right next to one of the other flocks eggs or you can catch them scooting one egg into the nesting box of their choice to add to their egg.
My chickens lay in one or the other nesting box, never separately. When I collect daily they are always together in one box. Now I have a small flock, other folks may have several and with that you will find eggs everywhere.
Some hens have been bred to have a very long laying season. You may get a couple hundred in a season. A breed that hasn’t been bred for egg laying may only lay a dozen or so and only at the right time of the year. Chickens need about 14 hours of daylight to lay consistently.
We personally allow them to have the winter off. We choose not to provide them with artificial light during those months. You may choose to provide a light in the winter, we just don’t. Now we do put Christmas lights around our coop! So cute! I don’t think that constitutes enough laying light however.
