How can you encourage your chickens to lay eggs?
Laying eggs is a time that is eagerly awaited by everyone who has chickens. The date of the first laying depends on the breed of your hen, it can vary between 5 and 8 months. Several factors, such as the feed, can favour this first laying.
"A happy hen is a laying hen."
The size of the first eggs is always very small at the beginning, but tends to increase over the years and the care you give them.
How many eggs can a hen lay?
Depending on the breed, about 200 to 300 eggs are produced per year, we can estimate about 1 egg per day. Egg laying decreases after 5 years.
Up to what age are gallinacs productive?
We can consider that in the first years of its life, the hen is very productive, this starts to decrease from the age of 3 years. Apart from genetic aptitudes, laying depends above all on the environment and the hen's diet.
What are the criteria to be taken into account to encourage the laying of your hens?
Pamper your chickens, they'll give it back to you! Take care of your chickens and their environment to offer them a real cosy nest. It is also important to regularly maintain and clean your hen house or laying nest. Don't forget to disinfect!
Think of the nests to offer them a cocooning place. Offer them new nesting places by using nests to collect eggs safely. Their nesting area should be a quiet place and should be located in a dark area of the henhouse.
Encourage egg-laying with dummy eggs: This will encourage the hen to come and lay her eggs in the same place. By instinct, the bird will try to collect all her eggs together.
Let them get a breath of fresh air. Lack of light is detrimental to egg production. Allow at least 10 hours of light to stimulate ovulation in your chickens. On top of that, they can take advantage of this to get some physical exercise to stay in shape!
A healthy mind in a healthy body. Water at will and a varied and balanced diet will be essential for the well-being of your chickens.
Here are some ideas for a varied diet:
- Green grass and insects, a real pleasure to peck in the garden
- Calcium-rich snail and oyster shells
- Wheat, rich in carbohydrates, a real source of energy
In addition to a rich and varied diet, consider adding dietary supplements to improve your hen's health.
Grandma's trick: Collect fresh stinging nettles, crush them and mix them with your chickens' food. This tip, rich in calcium and vitamins, is sure to stimulate egg laying!
As you will have noticed, the key to having eggs is to favour the well-being of your chickens as much as possible. Now... to your henhouse!
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