What time does Chicken Usually Lay at your farm?

Raising chickens is an enjoyable and lucrative undertaking. Laying hens, bred for egg 

production, are plucky pets that reward your tender care with a steady supply of fresh 

and wholesome. Hens lay eggs during the day, most frequently in the morning. The 

timing of oviposition, or egg-laying, varies with a chicken's breed and how much light 

exposure she gets.

Also Read: How to Stimulate egg laying at your farm?

Light Exposure

A hen's reproductive cycle is controlled by photoperiod, or light exposure. Hens require 

at least 14 hours of light per day to lay eggs. They produce eggs at a maximum rate with 

16 hours of light exposure. Hens generally lay eggs within six hours of sunrise -- or six 

hours of artificial light exposure for hens kept indoors. Hens without exposure to artificial 

lighting in the hen house will stop laying eggs in late fall for about two months. They begin

laying again as the days lengthen.

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How an Egg Is Made

Oviposition, or egg-laying, starts with ovulation. A hen ovulates by releasing an ovum, or egg 

yolk, from her ovary. It slowly travels down the hen's long oviduct where the egg white, shell 

membrane and eggshell form around the yolk. She lays the egg by pushing it out her cloaca, 

the single opening for her reproductive, urinary and intestinal tracts. It takes about 26 hours 

from ovulation to oviposition.

Timing of Ovulation

Hens usually ovulate in the morning but can ovulate as late as 3 p.m. Ovulation occurs about 

an hour after laying an egg. If a hen lays an egg in the afternoon, she may delay ovulating 

again until the following day. That egg will be laid about 26 hours later. This is why hens 

regularly skip a day of egg-laying.

Also Read: What is the Laying Cycle for A Chicken?

Timing of Laying

A laying hen can at most produce only one egg about every 28 hours. She won't ovulate or 

lay eggs in the dark, and egg production rates vary with length and timing of photoperiod. 

All these factors influence the time of day an egg is laid, so it varies with each egg. But it 

usually occurs in the morning or early afternoon.

Genetic Factors

A hen's breed influences when she will lay an egg. Brown-egg breeds tend to lay earlier in 

the day, while white- and tinted-egg breeds tend to lay later in the day. Broiler hens, bred 

for meat production, lay eggs less frequently than laying hens. Broiler hens may lay their 

eggs before dawn.