How long do chickens lay eggs? Age, Production, and More!

A chicken, rather, a Hen will start to lay around 16-20 weeks old. You’ll find the first egg to be a bit smaller in the early couple of weeks but will quickly get up to standard size. Hens lay an average of every 24-26 hours.

Hens slowly reduce producing eggs as they age. They’ll slow down as they age. Production will be minimal around 5 – 7 years old. When this happens you can expect producing eggs to stop altogether in the upcoming year.

A chicken’s life expectancy can vary a great deal. However, 4 – 7 years is average. This depends on environmental factors like living conditions, weather, and predators. The breed is also a factor as some breeds are developed to live longer and more hardy in certain conditions. Of course, the quality of good feed and grains is equally if not more important than all of these.

Wild chickens only have a life expectancy of approximately 3 years. Did you know the oldest recorded chicken was named Muffy (or Buffy?), this bird lived 22 years!

How many eggs do chickens lay?

Hens lay almost daily, with the average chicken laying about 5-6 per week. Occasionally you’ll hear of a breed that will lay more than one egg per day, but it’s unlikely. The person most likely counted wrong or missed an egg the day before.

You’re more likely to hear of a hen that has a double yolk egg. This is more likely in a young bird or one that is eating more than the rest of the flock. Double yolks are not anything that you’ll experience consistently or long-term. Although, it’s pretty cool to get a double yolk ‘surprise’!

There are many breeds and different egg production rates. On average a bird bred for egg-laying will produce approximately 250 eggs per year at their peak.

At what age do chickens start laying eggs?

When do.chickens start laying eggs you ask. Chickens start laying eggs around 4-5 months of age. Some start egg production as early as 16 weeks, while others may take as long as 6 months to produce their first egg!

Be sure to read about the best time to get your baby chicks.

Most laying hens will be at their peak production around 7-8 months old (approx 30 weeks). It’s important to note that the hours of daylight impact laying also. While your bird may be at peak production age, the fewer daylight hours of winter could reduce the production until spring.

Around 2 years, you’ll start to notice your hen will lay fewer eggs. This will continue to decrease until chickens stop laying at around 7-10 years old.

• At 2 years a hen will lay 80% of her first year.
• When your laying hen is three years old, she’ll have 70% (or close to) the production of a one-year-old chicken.
• In the fourth year, chickens lay 60% less than their peak production time at one year old.
• Year five only 50% of the production compared to year one. So, if you have a chicken lay 250 at peak, in year five you’ll only have about 125 eggs annually.

For continuous peak production, it’s wise to add new birds to your flock every couple of years. This will assure you have a good rotation of fresh laying hens every year.

Read more about the Many Benefits of Backyard Chickens here.

Do all chicken breeds lay eggs?

All hens lay eggs. However, not all chickens do, remember the Rooster is the male and they do not produce any. There are breeds developed specifically for laying and higher production. There are also breeds developed for meat chickens and breeds developed for more ornamental birds.

The most common egg-laying chicken breeds are and how many eggs they lay:

Austra White Chicken – large off-white – light brown eggs, approx 280 per year.

Barred Rock – large brown eggs, approx 250 per year.

Orpington – medium brown eggs, approx 250 a year. (Buff Orpington) Buff Orpington egg laying age starts around 20 weeks up until 3-5 years old.

Rhode Island Red – large brown eggs, approx 250 a year.

White Leghorn – extra large white eggs, 250-300 per year.

The most common egg-laying chicken breed is the Rhode Island Red, followed by the Leghorn. However, there are many other breeds that produce well and a variety in breeds is always enjoyable when you’re raising a backyard flock.

Related Article: Tips for Buying Backyard Chickens.

How often do chickens lay eggs?

Chickens lay eggs on a pretty consistent basis, but there are some factors that can affect their production. For the most part, hens will have one egg per day (every 24-26 hours). But things like weather and stress factors can cause them to vary.

Stress factors could be predators (including unfamiliar barking dogs) nearby or even periods of loud disturbing noise, like nearby construction.

In the wintertime, female birds tend to produce fewer eggs or many chickens stop laying eggs in winter months. This is because of the decreased daylight hours.

Age is another factor that affects how often chickens lay eggs. Generally speaking, young hens lay an egg almost every day, while older hens have fewer eggs as they age. Eventually, old hens stop laying eggs altogether

do chickens lay eggs year round

One other thing worth mentioning is that daylight should be around 16 hours a day for the peak laying period. You can add light inside the coop, however, we do not recommend this for safety reasons and it is simply not the natural production of a bird. This could cause health issues earlier in their lives.

You may like reading: How to Keep Chickens Out of Your Garden and Flower Beds.

What time of day do Laying Hens lay their egg?

Chickens lay eggs starting around dawn (sunrise) and anytime up to 6 hours past that. Consistency is key to keeping healthy hens so we’d encourage you to bring feed and fresh water to hens each morning and collect whatever they have in their nesting boxes at that time. Then go back and collect the remainder around lunchtime.

Are there male and female Chickens that lay fresh eggs?

No. Only hens. female chickens. Roosters, the male chicken does not.

Do Chickens need a rooster to lay an egg?

Contrary to popular belief, a hen doesn’t need a rooster to lay an egg. In fact, hens will lay an egg without even the presence of a rooster, but they are not fertilized and therefore won’t hatch. A hen needs a rooster for breeding purposes only–the male’s role is to fertilize the egg.

What to Do When Your Chicken Stops Laying Fresh Eggs

When your chicken stops laying, you have a few options. You can either allow them to live out the rest of their days on the farm or you can slaughter them and eat them.

If you are not comfortable or set up to do this at home (many are not), find a local butcher or slaughterhouse where you can bring birds to. They will do this for a reasonable fee. Some places will even pay you to take the bird off your hands.

5 Hints Your Hen May Start Laying Eggs

The average chicken will have their first egg around 16-20 weeks, but some breeds won’t lay until later. Be patient and check your ‘breed information’ If you’re wondering whether or not your chicken is about to lay her first egg, watch for these signs:

1. The chicken is more interested and investigating the nesting box
2. Your girl becomes a bit more vocal and louder
3. Squatting down like she’s about to lay
4. Her comb and wattles are brighter red and a bit enlarged
5. She’s hungry, well more than usual, and increased her appetite

The moment you’ve been waiting for: Egg Production Begins!

The chickens have been working hard to produce eggs, and the moment has finally arrived! The first eggs have landed, so be sure to take care of collecting them as soon as possible.

It’s important to remember that the chickens will produce smaller eggs until they become fully mature. Once a chicken lays an egg, it can be collected, stored or cleaned, and eaten as soon as you’re ready.

Don’t rush to wash the eggs, they’ll stay fresh unwashed, and at room temperature. Read more about cleaning and storing eggs here.

Chickens are an integral part of the homestead, if you have children, now is the time to involve them even more. Collecting eggs gently and seeing that all the care they put into their pet is paying off!

Other Reasons a Hen Stops Laying

So, why do chickens stop laying? Let’s find out more…

Changes in laying Routine

Sometimes chicken lays change patterns. They may stop for a few days and then start back up again.

Sick, injured & stressed birds

Injured and sick birds are not able to produce eggs as the body concentrates primarily on recovery. Similarly, birds under stress will produce fewer eggs. Some common stressors include predator proximity and/or harassment, too cold, too hot temperatures, being bullied by other birds (pecking order), new pens or new birds added to the flock

Breed

Some breeds have more productive layers. Breeds like White Leghorn lay about 300 eggs a year and RI Red lay about 250-280 annually.

Too many treats

When giving birds a large number of treats such as scratch grain or table scraps, will decrease protein levels. The treats are like french fries. Your birds eat them but do not provide the proper nutrients to produce eggs. Follow the 90/10 rule. Only 10% treats in daily diet.

Molting Birds

Molting happens every year in birds and is an annual process of dropping old feathers. It occurs in late fall to winter times. Their biological clock knows this because of the decrease in daylight.

Molting typically lasts 2 – 3 months (8-12 weeks). This is an important time to increase nutrients in your flock, enabling them to maintain health but also to gain needed nutrition to be able to start to lay again come spring.

Winter production and decrease in daylight

Chicken laying has pretty much been halted or drastically slowed down during the winter. When days are shorter, the lack of sunshine reduces her hormone levels, causing a significant decrease or altogether stop in eggs. This is normal.

Yes, chickens can lay eggs during the winter with some added help from you.

While your hen may not be laying now, you want to keep and even increase the nutritional value of their diets. Remember to always have fresh water. Water may need to be changed more frequently as it may get dirtier with the flock spending much more time inside. Frozen water is also a winter problem. You will want to be sure to change the water more frequently or purchase a bowl warmer or heated waterer.

Lacking protein

Because eggs have protein, birds with low protein lay fewer eggs. During the first week of life, the laying chicken is fed 15-17% protein. Once laying you can change the feed to a slightly lesser protein value of around 16%.

A molting hen can and should be getting a higher level of protein (around 20%) and reduced calcium.

Speak with your local feed and grain store/ farm supply store for guidance on which feed to purchase.

Age

As we explained above as well, age is definitely a factor in egg-laying. The first two seasons of the hen’s life have been her most productive period. In the following years, she expects the production of her eggs to decline by about 10% a year.

how long do layer hens live

The average life span of a chicken can vary by climate, proper feed, and shelter, however, you can expect the lifespan of most backyard chickens to be about 7 years. Yes, they are capable of living longer under ideal conditions and great genetics, but it’s not often you’ll hear of a backyard hobby farmer telling stories about their 12-year-old hen.

Related: Reasons Chickens Stop Laying Eggs here.

How Is an Egg Formed?

• The egg is made within the reproductive tract of a female chicken, called a hen.
• The reproductive tract is split into two major parts: the ovary and therefore the oviduct.
• The ovary is where the yolk is added. When the yolk reaches the correct size, it’s released from the ovary by a process called ovulation.
• The released yolk is then picked up by the infundibulum.
• The yolk then passes to the magnum, where the albumen is added.
• It then goes on to the isthmus for the addition of the shell membranes.
• The developing egg spends most of its time within the shell gland, where the shell and any shell pigments are added.
• because the egg is being assembled it travels down the oviduct, small end first.
• it’s pushed out, the big end first.
• This prevents the egg from being contaminated by feces when it’s laid

What goes on inside; a hen’s reproductive system?

We like the simplicity of how it’s explained in this video:

Final Thoughts

While your hen may not lay as much or often as they age, if you add new birds to your egg-laying flock every year or two you’ll have plenty enough eggs for your family and others. Proper care, nutrition, a safe space, and ample exercise room will help with overall healthy hens and allow them to produce at their full age-appropriate capacity.

Be Sure To Read About Our 15+ Top Egg Laying Hens.

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how long till chickens lay eggs?

Most chickens will begin laying around 22-24 weeks (maturity). However, there are some that start much sooner, around 16 weeks and yet still some that start as late as 8 months or 32 weeks old. Rest assured all hens lay chicken eggs and you’ll have a yummy treat soon enough.

when do bantams start laying eggs?

what age do bantams start laying isn’t often asked in the chicken world because well, most people aren’t raising bantams for eggs to eat. However, Bantams start on the later side, 24-28 weeks on average. If that age hits the shorter days on your calendar, you may not see eggs for a bit longer.

worlds oldest chicken

The current record holder is Peanut, a hen from Michigan who was officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest living chicken in the world at 20 years old.