Nesting hens should be laying eggs. If any hen is spending frequent, unproductive periods inside a nest box, it is recommended that veterinary assistance is sought.

There are many causes of "stress" in hens. We humans are used to discussing stress in terms of our mental health and although that certainly applies to our hens as well, there are also physiological causes of stress that may not be so obvious.

Nesting hens should be laying eggs. There are many causes for nesting including hormonal changes, behaviour and illness.

Epsom salts are primarily Magnesium sulphate.

Hens need carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water to live. As they grow from a chick to an adult they need different proportions of each nutrient suited to their particular life stage. That is why poultry diets are formulated as starter, grower and laying hen rations.

The main factors that influence egg size are genetic and nutritional. Click the Read More button below to learn more about how these factors influence the size of your produce.

Different breeds lay at different rates. A typical brown hybrid layer will produce at peak production an egg on 9 out of every 10 days. Whereas traditional breeds often produce eggs at lower rates.

Chickens can live for many years and continue to lay eggs for many of these years. However, after two or three years many hens significantly decline in egg laying.

Good egg quality means high quality contents and shell. Table eggs need to be clean, reducing the level of bacterial on the shell entering your kitchen, and nutritious.

Carotenoids play the most important role in providing egg yolk colour. This family of pigments can vary in colour from yellow to red, and are occur naturally in many different plants, fungi and algae.

Egg shell appearance can be affected by life stage, nutrition, stress and disease. Anything that affects the normal functioning of the female reproductive tract in a hen can potentially cause shell changes.