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1. Five individually caged Leghorn hens, reared from hatching under continuous light and having their ovipositions uniformly scattered throughout the 24‐h period, were used to study voluntary intakes of a diet low in calcium, oyster shell and water.
2. Food intake was high just after ovulation, decreased during the first 16 h of egg formation, rose transiently 20 to 22 h after ovulation and was minimal just before oviposition.
3. Oyster shell intake was characterised by three peaks, two coincided with those of food diet but the third, occurring between 8 and 12 h after previous oviposition, could be related to the immediate calcium need of shell formation.
4. Water intake followed a similar pattern to food intake but there was an independent rise during albumen plumping (6 to 8 h after previous oviposition).