How to make chickens lay eggs faster

If you keep chickens, you naturally would prefer that your laying hens deposit their eggs in the nest boxes you've provided for that purpose—not outside on the ground, in the corners, hidden in tall grass, in hay bales, or any of the hundreds of other places that seem to appeal to them. It is a maddening fact of life for chicken keepers that hens often resist cooperating when it comes to laying their eggs. Chickens are creatures of habit, and they can be very stubborn about this behavior.

But don't give up. There are several ways you can encourage your hens to lay in their nest boxes, ensuring that you get the maximum number of fresh, clean eggs.

Provide the Right Number of Nest Boxes

One box for every four to six hens is ideal for your hens to feel comfortable laying in them. Paradoxically, too many nest boxes will cause hens to use them to sleep and defecate in but less likely to lay eggs in them.

Make the Nest Boxes Appealing

Ensure that your nest boxes are in a dark, quiet corner of the coop. Hens have the instinct to lay their eggs in a safe place. Boxes should be at least a few inches off the floor.

Collect the Eggs Regularly

Make sure to collect eggs regularly, since a box already full of eggs isn't very appealing to a hen looking for a nesting spot. One or two eggs already in the box won't dissuade a hen from adding a few more, but most hens are attracted to an empty nesting box, provided they are clean and attractive. If you get into the habit of collecting eggs twice a day, chances are good that your hens will seek to fill up those empty spots with more eggs.  

The Spruce / Steven Merkel

Provide Enough Roosting Spots 

Ideally, you want your hens to lay eggs in the nest boxes, not to use them as "home." If the nest boxes are their only place to sleep, the boxes will quickly become messy with feces, leading to dirty eggs. But if you provide enough roosting spots, the chickens are more likely to sleep on the roosts and reserve the boxes for laying eggs.

Train Your Chickens With a "Nest Egg"

You can purchase fake ceramic eggs from feed or supply stores, or use a golf ball. When your pullets get ready to start laying, placing the fake egg in a nest box will give them the hint that the boxes are "the place" to lay their eggs, too.

The Spruce / Steven Merkel

Make the "Wrong" Places Difficult for Your Hens

If a hen has chosen the wrong nesting spot in which to lay her eggs, try to block it or make it otherwise unattractive to her. A ground site can simply be covered with a scrap piece of wood or ​another object. In other areas, rocks or plastic bottles heaped on her forbidden nesting site might be all it takes to convince her to return to the comfortable nesting box you've provided.

Keep Your Hens Confined Until Mid-Morning

Most hens lay early eggs in the day. By keeping them in the coop until most of the egg-laying is done, you maximize the chances that they'll lay in the nest boxes instead of finding a cozy place in the yard outside the coop.

Make the Nest Boxes Clean, Soft, and Comfortable

As shavings or other bedding materials get depleted in the nest boxes, hens tend to avoid them. Keep the shavings or straw in the nest boxes nice and fluffy and change it regularly to encourage your hens to lay there in the nest boxes rather than elsewhere.

Catch the Hen in the Act and Move Her

This takes some careful surveillance, but if you see your hen settling down in the illegal nesting spot, you can gently but insistently grab her and move her to an empty nest box. Sooner or later, she'll tire of being disturbed and start heading right for an available nest box when the spirit says it's time to lay. 

The Spruce / Steven Merkel

Provide Artificial Light in Winter 

Chickens naturally stop egg production when daylight hours dwindle in winter. Not only will they stop laying eggs in nest boxes, but they also won't lay many at all, in any location. You can stimulate egg production by augmenting with artificial lighting so the hens receive at least 14 hours of light each day, using a combination of natural daylight and artificial light. 

Kick the Hens Out at Night

Chickens that develop a habit of sleeping in their nesting boxes often refuse to lay eggs there, possibly out of an innate sense of hygiene. When you notice your hens settling down to sleep in the nesting boxes rather than the roosts, shoo them out, or physically grab them and place them on the roosts.

Chickens stop laying eggs for a variety of reasons. Hens may lay fewer eggs due to light, stress, poor nutrition, molt or age. Some of these reasons are natural responses, while others can be fixed with simple changes and egg laying can return to normal. 

If you’re a backyard chicken raiser, you’ve become accustomed to your morning routine: Wake up. Drink coffee. Collect farm fresh eggs from your backyard flock. As the days become shorter and temperatures drop, you may notice fewer eggs when you go out to the chicken coop. It may have you wondering, “Why won’t my chickens lay eggs?”

  Some of these reasons are natural while others can be fixed with simple changes. It’s up to us as flock raisers to solve the mystery of why farm fresh eggs might be missing from the nesting box.

First, confirm your hen isn’t hiding her eggs and creating a nest outside the coop. Then, before you go looking for an egg thief, here are five factors to consider that can affect egg production:

1. Daylight

The first and most common cause of decreased egg production is light hours. Hens need a minimum of 16 hours of daylight to sustain strong production. Without supplemental light, they may naturally stop laying eggs due to a hormonal response as the days get shorter.

  Hens lay best when provided at least 16 hours of day light, whether natural, artificial or a combination of the two. Some flock raisers use winter as a period of rest for their hens without supplemental light.

  If you’re looking for consistent egg production through the winter months, provide additional light to encourage your birds to keep laying.

  We recommend using one incandescent 25-watt or LED 3- to 9-watt bulb per 100 square feet of coop space. If supplementing with artificial daylight, keep your flock’s exposure and sleeping schedule consistent by putting lights on timers.

2. Coop Environment

If birds are stressed, egg production may suffer. Stress comes in many forms – predators, over-crowding, aggressive hens, loud noises, too much heat or cold, poor nutrition and illness. Check the environment to be sure there aren’t stressors in the area.

  Use these tips for keeping the chicken coop stress-free:

1. Predator proof your coop with galvanized wire and add metal screens on doors and windows.
2. Provide at least 4 square feet of indoor space and 5-10 square feet of outdoor space per bird.
3. Offer one nesting box per four hens with clean, dry bedding.
4. Separate hens if the pecking order becomes aggressive.

Keep temperatures comfortable in the coop, but not drastically different than outdoors. Chickens, especially cold-tolerant breeds, can withstand winter temperatures without supplemental heat.

  If you feel providing a source of heat is necessary, only raise the temperature a few degrees. Hens will adjust to the cold temperature, but if it is 70 degrees Fahrenheit in the coop and zero degrees in the run, they won’t be able to regulate their body temperature.

3. Chicken Nutrition

Another reason for decreased egg production is over-treating and over-supplementing hens. Added treats and scraps can dilute the nutrients in a complete layer feed so the hen is less able to produce eggs consistently.

  Laying hens need 38 nutrients for consistent health and performance. Calcium is the most critical for laying hens; she must consume four grams of calcium each day. Complete layer feeds are formulated to provide everything hens need in the correct amounts, but if we provide too many treats, then those nutrients become diluted.

  A general rule to follow is the 90/10 rule. This means the hen’s diet should be made of at least 90 percent complete feed.

4. Molt 

Around 18 months of age and annually after, chickens go through molt, which is defined as a period of feather loss and regrowth. Molt usually occurs in autumn and is associated with a decrease in egg production.

  Molting chickens redirect their energy from laying eggs to growing feathers. This results in a brief break from egg production. Molt typically lasts eight to 16 weeks, depending on the bird. Once she has a new set of feathers, egg production should return to normal.

  To help hens through molt and return to laying eggs, switch to a high protein feed during molt, like Purina® Flock Raiser. Once egg laying resumes, transition back to a layer feed higher in calcium, such as Purina® Layena®, Purina® Layena® Plus Omega-3, Purina® Layena®  High Protein or Purina® Organic Layer Pellets or Crumbles.

5. Hen age

Chickens begin laying eggs between 18-20 weeks of age and can lay eggs as long as her productive lifetime allows.

  People often ask us: ‘How long do chickens live?’ This is a great connection to egg production. While the average lifespan of a chicken is 8-10 years, we’ve also seen well cared-for hens live beyond that. Just like people, as birds age they tend to slow down.

  Over the course of a hen’s lifetime, egg production will peak at about 250-280 eggs during their first year laying eggs.  After that, the number of eggs produced each year declines until she retires.

  A hen can continue to be a valued member of your flock after her peak production has passed. Retired hens provide great companionship and often become leaders in their flocks, showing younger birds the ropes.

  To try a layer feed that will help your hens lay strong, sign up for the Feed Greatness® Challenge receive $6 in coupons*.

  *The Feed Greatness® Challenge is a 90-day feeding trial where you will feed Purina® feed, monitor your flock’s performance and health, take pictures and receive emails with helpful information.

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