laying eggs

[sue]

i have 4 hens and a cockeral , the hens are 2 rhode island and 2 maran in the last few days ive started to get a egg every day from one of the rhode island reds but i will be letting them out of there run in a week or so but they seem to be laying in the mid afternoon , would they go back to the hen house to lay when they are let out or would they just lay everywere ( they will have 8 acres) hope this doesnt seem like a silly question i am new to keeping chickens thanks

[Mo]

I don't know about 8 acres, in medium sized run they usually go back in, but 20 years ago, when I kept hens before, I had one that had a habit of laying 'out'.
You could watch the magpies sitting on next doors bungalow roof, waiting for an egg under the gooseberry bush.
If you find you are not getting as many as you expect you could start an egg hunt!

You'll mostly be OK, I think.

No accounting for hens though, they don't read the books.

[Richard]

8 acres, not a bad size chicken run!!!!

As Mo says, hard to say. The proof will be in the pudding really. If there are no eggs in the house, the hunt is on and to be honest, it could be anywhere.

They do change their favourite place quite often though.

Reckon you'll be OK though.