The Clutch

A laying hen lays 180 to 200 eggs a year, with cycles depending on certain conditions:

• Age of the animal: Hens lay their first eggs at the age of 5 to7 months and then regularly up to the age of 2 to 3 years
• Season: The short days of winter slow down the laying rhythm, which then reaches its peak in the spring
• Their own rhythm: Hens lay in a cycle of 5 or 7 days (4 laying days and 1 rest day, or 5 laying days and 2 rest days)
• Food and water: A varied diet with grains (wheat, maize, oats, barley) and plants (grass, organic waste), bran mash or moistened bread promotes regular laying even in the winter. Sufficient clean drinking water must be provided.

The eggs hens lay are a reflection of the diet and life of your animals. They can vary in flavour and colour depending on the season and feed composition. Eggs from your own laying hens have been neither transported nor stored. They are simply fresh eggs that you can eat up to 28 days after laying. The egg is an exceptionally wholesome food. Its proteins consist of 23 amino acids, 9 of which are essential as our bodies do not produce them themselves.

Give your chicks the best start with useful helpers such as incubators, brooding accessories and radiant warmers: