Over recent years, chickens have been constantly domesticated by the human race. Originally descended from the jungle fowls of the Asian Continent, the lives of our modern-day chickens are more different compared to their native ancestors. Nowadays, people raise chickens for basic needs, that is, for egg and meat production, to supply sufficient staple foods across the globe.
For this reason, one of the most fascinating questions repeatedly asked is how often do chickens lay eggs? Maybe you have a mental imagination picturing a chicken hen sitting over a whole bunch of eggs.
But do chickens lay eggs every day? And how many eggs do these hens produce all year long? So, stay tuned, continue reading this article, and together let’s explore nothing but all the tiny details surrounding the egg-laying cycle of chicken hens!
How Often Do Chickens Lay Eggs?
Under different optimum conditions, modern-day chicken breeds can lay and produce around two hundred fifty to three hundred eggs in a year. To mention a few, these chicken hens include the Rhode Island Reds. Australorps, Plymouth Rocks, Leghorns, Sussex, Plymouth Rocks, and Orpingtons.
Because of the selective breeding practice used nowadays, chickens hold the impressive ability to lay eggs double the number as they did years ago.
What Are the Types of Chickens that Produce Most Eggs?
Several chicken breeds can easily produce in a snap two hundred fifty to three hundred eggs per year. To sum it up, these amount to around one egg every day or five per week. Most hens can lay eggs as many as they can for the first one to three years. Afterward, the frequency of their egg production will suddenly drop and change!
On the other hand, there are other chicken breeds which lay seldomly-that is, around one hundred to one hundred fifty eggs each year. You can even find and spot hens like the Yokohamas and Sultans that can lay only one egg on a weekly basis.
As we’ve mentioned earlier, one of the contributing factors that affect the egg-laying abilities of the chicken is its breed or specie. So, for this part, let’s talk about the types of chickens that can produce the most eggs. To make it quick, we classify the chicken breeds into two categories: production chickens and heritage chickens.
Production Chickens
As the name suggests, these chicken breeds are raised by commercial farmers and homeowners to lay large eggs in a short span of time. Most often than not, other qualities of the hen like its broodiness are often compromised. After 24 months or two years, the production chickens will continue in laying and producing eggs, but one can expect that the amount and frequency will significantly decrease.
Heritage Chickens
Compared to production hens, the heritage hens are much slower in laying eggs and will not produce as profusely as the former. While they may spread the same amount of eggs in total, these chickens can only do so after an extended period of three to five years.
To give you a glimpse of what are the types of chickens that produce the most eggs, here’s a quick short profile that we made.
| Different Chicken Breeds’ Egg Laying Capabilities | |||
| Breed | Size | Colors | Eggs Per Week |
| Leghorns | Medium | White | 4-6 eggs |
| Rhode Island Reds | Large | Brown | 3- 5 eggs |
| Sussex | Large | Light Brown | 3-6 eggs |
| Delaware | Large | Brown | 3-4 eggs |
| Welsummer | Large | Terra Cota & Speckled | 3 eggs |
| Barnevelder | Large | Dark Brown | 3-4 large dark brown eggs |
| Plymouth Rock | Large | Brown | 4 eggs |
| Java | Large | Brown | 3 eggs |
| Houdan | Small | White | 2-3 eggs |
| Sultan | Small | White | 1 egg |
What are the Contributing Factors that Affect the Egg-Laying Abilities of the Chickens?
While it is true that modern-day chickens are purposely interbred to be able to produce increased volumes of eggs during the year, there are many contributing factors that affect the hen’s egg-laying rate.
Generally speaking, these factors include age, sunlight, nutrition, disease, stress level, season, and chicken breed. In this part, let’s talk about it one by one and see what are their impacts to the chicken’s egg production.
1. Age
Most often than not, chicken hens will start laying and producing eggs as early as five months old or eighteen to twenty-two weeks after their birth. The frequency of egg production will reach its peak at ninety percent during the initial eight to twelve weeks.
However, after twelve months of production, the chicken’s ability to lay eggs will rapidly diminished to around sixty-five percent. So, based on our experience, if you want to keep fresh eggs coming, it would be best to add younger hens to your growing flock from time to time.
2. Sunlight
Sunlight enhances the circadian rhythm of the chicken which in turn stimulates the hen’s reproductive cycle and significantly increased its production. For this reason, we can observe that chickens lay more eggs during the summer and spring seasons because of their longer exposure to the sun throughout the day.
As a result, commercial farmers always ensure that their chickens have a daily dose of sunlight. During the winter season, when there’s little to no sun, they utilize artificial lighting coming from timers, wattage, and bulbs to induce egg production.
3. Nutrition
The chicken’s overall nutrition diet also has a direct impact on its egg-laying ability. As a homeowner, if you want your little hens to efficiently lay eggs, you must ensure they have sufficient access to a complete, balanced diet that includes calcium, energy, and protein.
On top of everything, other key nutrients like sodium and vitamin D are crucial in the hen’s growth, egg development, and reproductive performance. On the other hand, scratch feeds and table scraps are deficient sources of nutrition, and continued consumption of these will later hinder egg production.
4. Disease
Disease in chickens is the number one enemy that can greatly compromise their egg production. These common illnesses often spotted in egg layers include coccidiosis, fowl pox, and infectious bronchitis.
For this reason, it’s vital for commercial farmers to implement various disease prevention programs to keep the hens healthy and maintain their egg production level high. Furthermore, it’s best to keep all the egg layers in a clean environment.
5. Stress Level
Another contributing factor that largely influences the chicken’s production is its stress level. As you might observe, hens and roosters form a close, formidable social bond.
The egg-laying and brooding is a cooperative effort so these little birds might be well-socialized to achieve the optimum level of egg-laying. On the contrary, if the chicken is under stressful conditions, it might affect its mood, and later, affect its egg-laying abilities.
6. Season
The seasons of the year also highly affect the broodiness of hens which in turn, boosts or reduces their efficiency in egg-laying and production. Just take some time, observe, and you will realize that hens lay more eggs throughout the traditional summer and spring seasons.
On the other hand, during the winter season, chicken’s egg production usually drops. As a result, commercial farmers make use of indoor heating and heat lamps to maintain the hen’s level of egg production.
7. Breed
The breed of the chicken hen has a profound impact on its egg-laying ability. As you can see, there are chickens that can roughly produce around two hundred to three hundred eggs annually, while others contribute less than half. While there are chickens that are primarily bred for poultry exhibitions and shows, there are hens that are raised for egg and meat products such as the following:
- Delaware
- Leghorn
- Ameraucana
- Rhode Island Red
- Red Star
- New Hampshire Red
- Australorps
- Plymouth Rock
- Sussex
- Orpingtons
- Golden Comet
Other chicken breeds like the Sultan, Yokohama, Phoenix, and Cubalaya lay less frequently like only one egg per week. Furthermore, game breeds such as the American Gamefowl and the Old English Game produce only one hundred eggs a year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Finally, now that we are done discussing in detail about the reproductive cycle of the hen, let’s answer more frequently questions on the web about chickens!
Can Chickens Lay Eggs During the Winter Season?
Yes, chicken hens can still lay eggs during the winter season. However, compared to the peak seasons of summer and spring, their egg-laying abilities might slow down or even stop. But this scenario is perfectly normal since the chicken’s reproductive cycle is always aligned with the season.
What is the Life Expectancy of a Chicken Hen?
Chicken hens can live on backyard farms for six to eight years and they can lay and produce eggs for around three to four years.
Do Chickens Lay Eggs Every Day?
Most chicken hens can lay one egg every day. But as we’ve mentioned earlier, different surrounding factors like weather, age, sunlight, nutrition, disease, and breed will heavily affect daily egg production.
If you’re want more of the discussion about how often do chicken lay and produce eggs, here’s a fun informative YouTube video brought to us by Becky’s Homestead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKKb2xSMvtM
Final Thoughts
Indeed, there are different contributing factors that affect the chicken hens’ egg laying capabilities like sunlight, age, stress level, disease, nutrition, and many more. So, if you want to raise chickens mainly for meat production, you have to look more closely into these points!
