How long hens lay eggs

From day 1 through week 17, feed chicks and pullets a complete starter-grower feed with higher protein and lower calcium. Backyard Poultry. Nutritionist, Companion Animal Technical Solutions. To help hens lay strong and stay strong, provide them with these necessities: Prepare chicken nesting boxes in the chicken coop.

Consider chicken coop light. Switch to a complete chicken layer feed. This change may even jumpstart egg production. The earliest you should transition to a layer feed would be around 16 weeks of age.

Do this if you are combining a flock of new hens with an older flock in the same coop. Chicken layer feed should include 16 percent protein and 3. Calcium is a key nutrient when it comes to the egg-laying process. Hens that lack proper calcium levels typically produce soft or brittle eggshells. Sometimes an improper calcium balance can cause hens to pull calcium from their bones to produce eggshells, weakening their overall skeletal structure.

We tackle egg goals in this FlockStrong article. This is because it takes hours to create each egg , and hens take a natural break each year for molting — often as days get shorter in the fall. Dual-purposed breeds like Plymouth Barred Rock, Sussex or Buff Orpingtons will typically also achieve top performance.

Remember, most hens will naturally slow down in the fall and winter unless you add supplemental light for a consistent 16 hours of light per day. How long do chickens lay eggs? Within their first year of life, most laying hens will be at their peak production at about 30 weeks of age. The first eggs will likely be smaller and increase in size over time. As your birds age, egg size will even out, and egg count will gradually drop.

At about 2 years old, you can estimate a hen will lay about 80 percent the eggs she did in her first year. See the accompanying graph from the University of Florida to help estimate the number of eggs you can expect from your flock each year.

Non-humane certified large-scale egg factories contacted by HuffPost were not willing to comment on these practices. They can house anywhere from , to , egg-laying hens at once, according to Laflamme. The hens are all generally the same age, so they typically stop laying around the same time. Essentially, when the chickens no longer lay eggs, the farmers are out of business until they can get new hens.

Not all egg farmers engage in the practice of gassing and dumping their spent hens. Feedback, questions or accessibility issues: info extension. Skip to content Search for:. English Spanish Hmong Lifespan of a hen Hens may live in backyard flocks for years, and most flocks will produce eggs for years. When do hens begin to lay eggs? Do hens lay eggs in the winter?

Are eggs laid every day? Can laying hens be harvested for meat? Download Article. Author: Sandra Stuttgen More from Sandra.