Do you like fresh yummy chicken eggs? Do you want to get the most eggs you can from your chickens? Here’s how you can make your chickens feel safe, healthy, fit, and happy. Follow these 7 tips to help your chickens lay more eggs.
1. Choose the right chicken breeds
There are hundreds of chicken breeds in existence. All chickens lay eggs, have edible meat, and possess a unique appearance, but some breeds were selected and are used primarily to produce eggs. The breed of chicken you have can significantly impact the number of eggs you should expect to receive each day. Certain breeds, such as Japanese Bantams, tend not to lay eggs, whereas certain breeds, such as Hybrid hens, can lay more than 280 eggs per year- that is nearly an egg every day! If you want fresh eggs all year long, you should choose to raise the following breeds:
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Golden Comet (hybrid)
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Sussex (also for meat)
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Ancona
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Barnevelder
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Hamburg
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Marans (also for meat)
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Buff Orpington
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Ameraucana
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Australorp
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Delaware
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Euskal oiloa
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Faverolles
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Golden laced wyandottes
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Isa brown
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Jaerhon
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New Hampshire red
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Red sex link
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Welsummer
But remember – just because you have a breed that can lay lots of eggs doesn’t mean they will have lots of eggs. Several other factors affect how many eggs will be on your table.
2. Feed them with quality food.
Chickens need a balanced diet to lay high-quality eggs consistently. Calcium and protein are the most important nutrients. Laying hens require about 20 grams of protein and 4–5 grams of calcium daily. They also need minerals like phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, manganese, and vitamin D3 to support eggshell formation and overall health. A commercial layer feed usually includes all essential vitamins, minerals, and the right amount of limestone flour for calcium. You can boost their diet with dried mealworms for extra protein. They love them! Healthy food options include leafy greens, cooked beans, corn, grains, berries, apples, and other fruits or vegetables. Always provide fresh water and clean feed daily. You can even make a simple herbal tea for your flock using fennel, garlic, or artemisia to support their health naturally.
3. Secure your coop
Reducing stress in your chickens’ lives greatly improves egg quality and quantity. Predators like raccoons, foxes, coyotes, weasels, skunks, hawks, and even neighborhood dogs can cause fear, injury, or death. To protect your flock, secure the coop from both ground and air threats. Use hardware cloth to cover all openings larger than ¼ inch, and bury it a few inches deep to block digging predators. For extra protection, cover the run with a roof or mesh. Always close the coop and run doors at dusk to keep chickens safe inside. If you’re not home, install a Run-Chicken Automatic Coop Door, which closes at dusk automatically. Its light-sensitive sensor won’t be affected by motion lights, ensuring reliable operation. With these measures, your chickens stay safe, calm, and productive while you enjoy peace of mind.
Extra Tip: Provide a private nesting area for your hens with plenty of room for comfort and a feeling of security. Happy hens lay more eggs!
4.Make sure they have enough daylight and space.
Chickens are happier and healthier when allowed to forage during the day. They need at least 14 hours of daylight to lay eggs and enough space to move freely. Let them out as close to sunrise as possible. If you can’t open the coop every morning, the Run-Chicken Automatic Coop Door can help it open automatically about 20 minutes after sunrise. You can also adjust the opening time with a simple button. As daylight decreases in fall, egg production naturally slows. You can add supplemental lighting to maintain laying, but be cautious constant light can shorten their laying lifespan. Coop size is also important. Provide at least 2–3 square feet per chicken inside and 8–10 square feet per chicken outside to keep them comfortable and active.
5. Inspect regularly for illnesses, injuries, and parasites
Health issues related to egg-laying are some of the most common health problems among chickens. There are a variety of reasons why a chicken may experience egg-laying issues. It can be a consequence of vitamin deficiencies, parasites and infections, and even stress. Healthy laying chickens will have clean, orderly feathers, bright eyes, red combs and wattles, and lots of energy. Keep an eye out for signs of problems such as foot injuries, cuts or peck marks, droopy tail, pale comb, and wattles, limping, feather loss – particularly around the vent, discharge from the vent, excessive scratching and preening (a sign of lice or mites), hiding/isolating themselves. Inspect the whole flock at least twice a month to help them as quickly as possible. Fortunately, you can treat the most common health problems easily at home.
6. Get juvenile chickens every year
The age of chickens plays a considerable role in producing a good amount of eggs. Older chickens don’t lay as many eggs as younger chickens. A chicken’s first year of laying eggs is always its best. By the age of three, the amount of eggs it lays slows down. For example, if your chicken laid 250 eggs in its first year, it would only lay 160 eggs by the third year. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to stop this; it’s just nature’s way. Chicken lifespans vary widely, with most chickens generally living between 3 and 7 years. To avoid the lack of eggs, you should add juvenile chickens to your coop at least once a year. You can hatch chicks or buy them at a local feed store or through your local poultry association, or you may order them online through a chick hatchery or supplier.
7. Deal with broodiness
Broodiness is another reason chickens stop laying eggs. As they are trying to hatch the eggs they’ve laid, they are not producing new ones. For example, some breeds, such as Silkie, Chentecler, Cochin, Sussex, and Marans, are known to broody several times a year, resulting in 4-6 months of no eggs! But no worries, there are several ways you can break their broodiness and get them back to laying eggs. Removing or blocking access to their favorite nest can do the trick. The other popular option is to remove the chicken from the nest. Set her out to free-range for the day, block access to the coop, or put her in another location until she stops brooding. Another way to deal with broodiness is to allow chickens to hatch and raise chicks. This method will bring some new chickens to your flock, which means more eggs once they grow up!
