Of the many reasons why some people have chosen to include chickens in their backyard is because of egg laying.
Also chickens like dogs, cats, and other animals commonly taken in as pets; are a delight to see and Children just love playing with them.
The Healthy Benefits of Your Own Laying Hens
But do these pets produce anything that for you? Well, chickens do. And they do it on a daily basis, chickens lay egg almost every day, and depending on how many you take care of, you won’t have to get a dozen from the supermarket ever again!
Chicken egg laying happening right in your backyard is very convenient, and gives you greater control and knowledge in how exactly that egg you’re eating was produced.
You know that what you’re eating is truly organic and fresh – only a few hours (even minutes) old, and not days, weeks, maybe months.
What’s more is that eggs from the chickens you raise are better tasting and more nutritious than those taken from farm raised chickens.
There’s an evident difference in between store bought and home grown eggs. The yolks have a healthy orange color, not pale yellow, are higher in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E and have lower cholesterol content.
There is a cycle in chicken egg laying, and you shouldn’t have any trouble collecting eggs on a daily basis. There are times when you might notice that you are getting a little less eggs from your chickens.
Get More Eggs By Understanding Laying Cycles.
You don’t even need to keep a rooster for your hens to lay their eggs (and most people disapprove of roosters kept in neighborhoods because they are the ones that can get noisy.)
At the start of the chicken egg laying cycle, you might notice that the eggs are small and soft-shelled. Don’t worry too much about this, it’s normal and your chickens will produce bigger and harder-shelled eggs as they mature.
Age, as you can see, plays a factor in the chicken egg laying cycle. As your chickens get into old age, they will eventually lay eggs less frequently. There is no remedy for this. (unless you’ve somehow found an elixir for your chickens to recover their lost youth?)
The other impediment to the chicken egg laying cycle is fewer daylight hours. Chickens don’t read the time off a watch (it’s really hard to strap it around a wing) and are dependent on sunlight to set their body clocks.
During the winter, for example, your chickens will produce fewer eggs because the days are shorter and the evenings are longer.
However there is a simple work around. You simply provide an artificial source of light for your chickens; a florescent full spectrum light in the coop that runs on a timer effectively extending the day.
This way your chickens body adapt to the schedule you set during the winter months providing you with higher egg production.
