The first egg, and the four things that have to be ready for it

The first egg arrives without warning, usually somewhere between weeks 18 and 22 for a production breed and later for a heritage one, and often in a corner of the run rather than anywhere you intended. Whatever a pullet lays on for the first fortnight is what she will keep laying on, so the nest boxes have to be in place and attractive before she starts, not after you notice she has.

The four things that change at week sixteen

1. The feed changes. Purina’s own feeding direction on chick starter is explicit: feed it continuously as the sole ration from day one until onset of egg production, then switch to a layer feed. Layer feed carries the calcium a laying hen needs; starter deliberately does not.
2. Free-choice oyster shell appears. Not mixed into feed — a separate dish, so the birds that need calcium take it and any that are not laying do not.
3. The nest boxes have to exist. University of Maryland Extension publishes one nest per four to five birds, secured 18 to 20 inches off the floor.
4. You need somewhere to put eggs. Unwashed eggs keep on a counter for weeks because the bloom is intact; washing them removes it and commits you to the refrigerator.

How many boxes, and how big

Two boxes covers a flock of six by the published ratio, and buying more rarely helps. Hens are not individualists about this: they collectively decide one box is correct and queue for it while the others sit empty. What you are providing is choice and hygiene, not capacity.

Roll-out boxes solve a problem you may not have yet

A roll-out nest box has a sloped floor. The egg is laid, rolls away from the hen and lands in a covered collection tray she cannot reach. It fixes two things at once: eggs stop sitting in bedding a hen has been standing in, and — much more importantly — a hen that develops the habit of eating eggs can no longer get at them.

That second point deserves emphasis, because egg-eating is close to incurable once it starts. A hen cracks one accidentally, discovers what is inside, and teaches the rest of the flock. There is no reliable cure. A roll-out box does not treat the habit; it removes the opportunity, which is why it is worth considering before you have the problem rather than after. The roll-out comparison covers the trade-offs, including the level-mounting requirement people miss.

Handling and storing what you collect

A freshly laid egg carries a natural coating called the bloom that seals the shell’s pores. Leave it intact and the egg keeps at room temperature for a long time. Wash it and you have removed the seal, and the egg now belongs in the refrigerator. This is the single most useful thing to know about your own eggs and it is why supermarket eggs in the US are refrigerated and much of Europe’s are not — a difference of washing practice, not of freshness.

The practical consequence: collect daily, brush off anything dry, and only wash the ones that genuinely need it, immediately before use. Egg handling goes through it, and nest pads are the upstream fix — a clean nest means far fewer eggs need washing at all.