Hens lay eggs with or without roosters.Most hens lay only one egg per day and the egg-laying process is quite painful and tiring for the chicken. It takes 24-26 hours to develop one egg with 14-16 hours of light per day.A well-looked after hen produces around 250 healthy eggs in one year. Even though hens lay eggs each day, they take a break during molting, usually in the fall, which reduces egg production. Some common egg-laying breeds that reach 250 production count in a year and produce white eggs are Blue Andalusians and White Leghorn hybrids. Breeds that produce brown eggs include Plymouth Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds. For blue eggs, breeds include Blue Ameraucanas. Sussex, Buff Orpingtons, or Plymouth Barred Rock dual-purpose breeds can also achieve top laying performance. The production of eggs also depends on light. The photo-receptive gland close to a hen’s eyes gets stimulated by natural sunlight or artificial light, signaling the release of an egg cell from the hen’s reproductive system. Egg-laying hens also depend on surrounding conditions, seasons, and nutritional intake. Due to different breeds, the number of eggs laid in a day or a week can vary. Sometimes a hen might stop laying eggs to hide the current ones. This phenomenon is common in free-range hens.The total egg production decreases every year because as hens age, they lay fewer eggs. Backyard poultry chicken owners add extra lighting in fall and winter to support egg production in the coop. Happy, healthy, and calm chickens with proper management and diet lay eggs with high nutrition. A minimum of 2-3 sq ft (0.180.27 sq m) space per hen is required. While buying chickens for your coop, it is good to ask the number of eggs laid by a particular breed and also the number of years they lay eggs for. A breed called Sultan is a lousy egg layer and the hens are very infrequent with their laying. . If you are looking for chickens to look after as a pet that does not frequently lay eggs, Yokohama, Cubalaya, and Phoenix breeds are perfect for you.If you enjoyed reading these facts that reveal the answer to how often do chickens lay eggs, then make sure to read some more interesting facts that answer the questions why do chickens lay eggs and why do chickens ready their eggs here at Kidadl.How many eggs do chickens lay a day?Egg-laying hens are capable of laying without a rooster and hens are raised to produce unfertilized eggs. In egg production farms, hens need around 24-26 hours to produce an egg.Although chickens are great egg layers, we cannot expect them to produce one egg every day. After one egg is laid, chickens take a 30-minute break bef0re starting the egg-laying process all over again, taking a day to lay the next egg. When chickens are born, eggs are already in their body so they do not need to develop an egg in the body. The eggs develop an egg yolk in the body, which is later released from the follicle into their ovary. The egg moves through the oviduct (this helps the yolk move through the reproductive system) to the isthumus and the magnum where the egg white is formed. This egg then moves to the uterus and it is here where the egg’s shell is formed. The complete development of the shell takes 20 hours. White, brown, blue, or any other color formed on the shell layer is added here. The egg is then placed in the vent and the chicken lays the egg. Most of the breeds are made to be productive eggs-layers and so most birds you buy from a catalog or feed store will be laying eggs steadily for one to two years. The Rhode Island Red chicken, for example, lays five to six eggs in one week. If a chicken is operating on a 26-hour production time, then the chicken will lay an egg for the day within around six hours of sunrise.How old do chickens have to be to lay eggs?Healthy egg-layers start to lay eggs when they are 18-20 weeks old.Many factors such as feeding, health, diet, and the nutrition given to these poultry birds must be considered so that chickens can lay eggs with better nutrition. The egg-laying time period varies from one breed to another breed and with the time of the year. Heritage breeds of chicken take a long time to lay eggs whereas in the modern-day this egg-laying animal is bred to lay a huge number of eggs early on in its life. As 40% of the egg-shell layer is made of calcium, this egg-laying animal will need a calcium-rich diet. Starter or grower feed is also good for the health of your backyard chicken. Only after the chicken is around 16-18 weeks old you can feed layer feed. Be sure to make the switch from starter to layer gradually so that your chicken can adapt to this change. If there are both immature and adult birds in the flock, feed them a starter pack until the young ones grow. Mature hens in your flock can be fed oysters separately for extra calcium. Your chickens will also need plenty of water so that they can thrive in your backyard coop. Chickens can easily contaminate their water, so it is advisable to fix nipple feeders. You can also make use of water founts but they will need to be full.Do chickens lay eggs in winter?Naturally, chickens do not lay eggs in winter because of the lack of the required daily dose of light.It is possible for your chicken to lay eggs in winter with a number of methods. It is not due to the cold that the chickens stop egg production but due to less light and a shortage of food. It is natural that they would not lay eggs as their young ones would need to change feathers, which is not possible in winter. Backyard keepers store eggs for this reason. However, for eggs being produced commercially, farmers would make the required arrangement for the hens to produce even during winters. They provide the hens with 16-hour lighting per day so that they can produce eggs in a normal way. Chickens are replaced with fresh ones and the spent ones are sent to the meat industry. It is, however, not healthy for chickens as they need to restore calcium and replace their feathers. Artificial lights do stimulate egg production only with a higher amount of food. Melatonin is produced in their body with decreasing light in winters, which will allow even a blind hen to stop producing eggs.Precautions must be taken to avoid brooding of these chickens. Some things that can be used to entertain your chickens when they cannot step out in winter are hays or pitch bail straws for the chicken to play with. You can also add vegetables to the coop with twine or you can attach chicken swings, ladders, and branches. You can hide treats in their bedding and they will forage for them. You can also add a mirror. For chickens that are given a break, it usually occurs in the months of December, January, and February. Some chicken breeds that lay eggs in winter are silkies, Brahma, Barneveld, Wyandotte, Plymouth Rock, and Orpingtons. It is often suggested not to force your hen to produce eggs during winter because they will molt late in mid-winter when the cold is at its worst. This is when they will need their feathers the most. Molting every year is necessary for your chicken.How many years will chickens lay eggs?Chickens do not abruptly stop egg production but lay fewer eggs as they age. Some lay eggs productively with the same yearly average of eggs for between five and seven years.Chickens lay a good amount of eggs in their second and third year of production. Chickens stop laying eggs for a variety of reasons, not just because of age. Some of these reasons are poor nutrition, stress, light, and molt. Some of these can be fixed to make the egg-laying process easier for chickens. When the chickens are spent they are euthanized and then sent to be converted either into food for pets or used for feed. The chickens that are almost at end of their egg-producing days are considered by-products and become food. However, hens live for many years after they have stopped producing eggs with a lifespan of 8-10 years. The oldest chicken to break this record was Matlida, an Old English game hen that lived for 16 years. A laying chicken needs almost 38 nutrients for health and performance with calcium being a vital one. Breeds are divided into heritage and production. Heritage breed chickens have a slower start to produce eggs and these egg-layers can go on until three to five years of age. However, the production breed starts to produce many eggs in a short period of time and lays eggs only for about two years. The best egg-laying chicken breeds are Plymouth Rock and Rhode Island Reds. The tastier breeds of chickens are Japanese bantam and silkies.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestion for how often do chickens lay eggs, then why not take a look at How are chicken eggs fertilized, or Leghorn chicken facts?
Hens lay eggs with or without roosters.
