If you own laying chickens then you’ll soon realise that they lay lots of eggs and, depending on how many chickens you have you can end up with a surplus quite quickly.
This can soon increase if your chickens lay 2 eggs a day but how likely is this and can a chicken lay 2 eggs a day?
Although it is rare, yes there are some chickens that can lay 2 eggs a day and some breeds are more likely to do this than others. Age of the chickens, their health and the time of year and weather, along with food, all affect whether a chicken can lay 2 eggs a day.
What kind of chicken lays 2 eggs a day?
Rhode Island Reds are a tough and common breed of chicken that I have owned and regularly laid 2 eggs a day.
This breed of chicken is known as a ‘dual purpose bird’ and is bred for meat and/or eggs.
They are widely available and live for many years with most producing at least one egg daily depending on their age and the time of year.
It is possible that other chicken breeds can lay 2 eggs daily but this is most likely with the Rhode Island Red.
Can you encourage a chicken to lay 2 eggs a day?
If you can find a ‘chicken whisperer’ who can ask your hens to lay 2 eggs a day then you are onto a winner.
In normal circumstances however, there is no sure fire way to get chickens to lay 2 eggs a day. All you can do is make sure that your hens:
- Have a clean and warm hen house, that is quiet and undisturbed
- That you feed them a good quality layers food
- They have access to a good source of clean water
- They can graze and forage in a ‘free range’ capacity
- You keep your hens healthy
Other factors will come into effect such as the age and breed of your chickens and the weather and time of year.
Young chickens are more likely to lay 2 eggs a day and happy hens are more productive than miserable birds.
If the weather is bad and your birds are wet, cold and unhappy then you may find that they stop laying eggs altogether.
Even with lots of effort to keep your hens comfortable and happy there is no guarantee that they will lay 2 eggs a day.
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Why do most chickens not lay 2 eggs a day?
This is simply due to the amount of time that it takes the chicken’s body to produce an egg.
It generally takes a chicken between 24 and 26 hours to produce an egg that is ready for laying and hens rarely produce more than one egg during this period of time.
Young hens are more likely to lay 2 eggs if their laying cycle has been disrupted and they lay more than one egg a day.
What food helps chickens to lay eggs?
Layers pellets, produced commercially are one of the best foods to feed to your chickens to help them to produce good quality eggs.
These pellets are widely available and contain all of the nutrients that your hens require for the production of eggs on a regular basis.
We’d recommend that you use organic layers pellets for best results and the Manna Pro Layers Pellets get great reviews from chicken owners.
You can see them here on Amazon.
Conclusion
Given the right food, housing, weather and conditions, it is possible for some chickens to lay 2 eggs a day.
If you do get two eggs from one or more of your chickens, then well done.
Remember that it is rare and you should not expect to get 2 eggs regularly.
