how many?

[Anonymous]

i have 3 rhode island red hens how many eggs will each lay per day? is it 1 each? or can they lay more?
they are 17wks old 1 lays every day 1 egg every second day i get 2 eggs and today i got 3 for the 1st time, will this be all 3 laying or just the one that lays every day? and the eggs are always in the same nest box

 

[Tim]

Hi Tommy,

RIR's are good layers but there are a number of factors that effect the number of eggs, the biggest factors are:

The particular strain you have - not all strains lay the same quantities.
Daylight hours - once they get too short, hens stop laying.
Moult - hens will go into moult to renew their feathers and normally stop laying as the calcium is going to make feathers instead of egg shells.

Your birds should lay through this winter with luck but will stop over the next winter and moult.

There is an article here on How many Eggs Will my Chickens Lay? that gives a bit more info...

My guess is somewhere between 250 and 300 eggs per year assuming they are healthy and have a good diet etc.

They are certainly one of the better laying breeds and many hybrid hens are created from crossing RIR with other good layers (like Leghorns).

Tim

 

[Anonymous]

just to add to Tims advice, between 18-21 weeks they start to lay so yours are doing well, one egg per day each is normal, if you get a double yoker they may not lay the following day. Same nest box thats norm they pick a fav nest box and if a egg is in it the next hen will sit on that egg to lay hers so the clutch of eggs grows.
yours are just comming into lay it takes a while for there bodys to get going but you will soon get 3 eggs per day regular. Most hens lay in the morning so best to leave them alone then if they get disturbed they may not lay that day but wait for the next day. Pullets eggs are small to start with but after their first moult the eggs will get bigger so something else to look forward to hope you enjoy them as much as we do great timewasters I can spend hours with mine haha.