See the related article discussing the reproductive tract of a chicken for more information on the specifics of egg production. Also, hens in a flock do not all begin to lay on exactly the same day, nor do they continue laying for the same length of time. Figure 1 shows a typical egg production curve for a flock. The flock comes into production quickly, peaks, and then slowly reduces the level of production. The length of time that a flock will produce eggs varies as well.
Many home flocks produce eggs on and off for three to four years. Each year, the level of egg production is lower than the previous year. Also, egg size increases and shell quality decreases each year. Both the number of eggs you can get from a flock and the number of years a flock will produce eggs depend on several variables, including the following factors:.
Some commercial breeds of chickens have been developed specifically for egg production. The commercial White Leghorn is used in large egg production complexes, but these birds typically do not produce well in home flocks. They are simply too flighty. Moreover, they lay white-shelled eggs. People purchasing eggs from small flocks often prefer to buy brown-shelled eggs, even though no nutritional differences exist between brown-shelled eggs and white-shelled eggs.
Breeding companies also have developed commercial layers for brown-shelled egg production, with some bred specifically for pasture poultry production. In addition, many hatcheries sell what are called sex-link crosses. These specific crosses allow the hatchery to sex the chicks at hatch based on feather color.
As a result, the number of sexing errors is reduced, so you are less likely to get an unwanted rooster. Some people like having a flock composed of different breeds. Such a flock can produce eggs having a selection of shell colors. Many dual-purpose breeds, such as Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds, lay eggs with light brown shells. Maran hens lay eggs with dark, chocolate-colored shells, which have become popular lately.
The Araucana is a South American breed that has feather tufts around the face and no tail and lays eggs having light blue shells. The chickens produced from these crosses have beards and muffs rather than the tufts seen on Araucanas, and they have tails. If bred to the purebred standards, such a cross will result in an Ameraucana, which lays eggs having blue-green shells.
Obviously, you can choose from several breeds. Eggs are removed after they are laid, leading the bird to think that there are still not enough in her nest, and causing her to continue laying.
A hen that is resistant to laying in a nest can be encouraged to do so by placing a few fake eggs there. After several months of laying, a hen may go through a molting cycle, during which old feathers are shed and new ones grown. After molting, however, production tends to reach a new peak. When birds in a modern facility have been laying for some time, production is reduced and the quality of the eggs declines, and because of this, many facilities will use various methods to induce molting, in order to improve production and quality after the molt.
One controversial method is by withholding feed for days; however, this is not allowed in some countries, and an alternative method is changing to lower density food. Hens will normally continue to lay until they reach two or three years of age, but there are a number of reasons, apart from lighting, molting and age, that can reduce or stop egg production. One of these is poor nutrition.
If a hen is not receiving proper amounts of feed, or if there is an imbalance, for example too much or too little salt, she will be unable to produce eggs. They are beautiful but the city does not allow Roosters. What can I do with these chickens? They are extremely nice boys and used to people. I found a home for the third. Our local store sold us 3 of 3 roosters when we purchased our Americaunas.
They are more like pets but cannot keep them. Have had them since Feb. I need help!! Please help!? Hi Alexia, Look at their sickle feathers- at 20 weeks old or so it should be a dead give away! Hi Tyler, Thank you for getting in touch. Or have you considered purchasing from a national breeder and getting them delivered to you?
Hi Whitney, I would recommend buff orpingtons. I plan to get chickens, very soon when we have more space to raise them. Do they do well together? Will they be able to be in the same coop and not fight with each other? I have always raised Sex Lnks which roost readily.
These Black Star hens huddle in the corner of concrete floor of coop at night and never go near the laying nests. Any thoughts as to why? Hi Michael, Do they have any light in the coop during the evening? Hi my hybrids stopped laying three months ago.
Nothing since except a few shell less eggs crushed. On layers pellets, no corn, excluded all fatty treats just pellets. At 18months could this be the end of eggs. Hi Wendy, Definitely not- they should still have plenty of eggs left at only 18months old. However 18months old sounds very close to their first major molt- are they molting, as this would stop their egg production… Claire.
We have 4 buff orpington ladies, about 5 mo. Loads of great advice on here. We are getting 4 hens but are novices so thank you for all the advice. My wife has gone chicken mad. I live in Anola Mb. I am wanting to get some dual purpose eggs, then when they get older meat chicks for myself.
Was just wondering what types would be best that can handle the temps. Hi Steven, I always recommend rhode islands as the best beginner hen and then can also handle very hot and cold weather.
I am new to raising chickens. My chickens have laid their first eggs yesterday. I thought my chicken were brown egg layers. Buff Orpington is actually what I thought they were. They are laying white large eggs. The chickens are a red orange with black in their tails. How can I find out for sure what kind of chickens I have?
My son and I plan to raise chickens this coming year. We would like to start them as chicks. Do you recommend that? Ours will have a fairly small hen house but a fenced in yard area to roam during the daylight hours. Your article was extremely helpful! Glad to hear the article has helped you Demrie. Yes absolutely- remember we are here if you need any help along the way! Meagan, I would ask if you know the breeds.
Some lay all year and some will stop in the winter. Also, what are the ages and their diet? Some hens are not good layers. You can tell if they are supposed to have yellow legs and beaks that are still yellow after a year of laying and look dull or sleepy. Also, how long have they been laying? Lots to consider and you can sleuth your way through this problem.
On this page you wrote not to use lights to force your hens to lay. In the comments you told a commenter that her chickens may need some light in the coop so the can see the roost. Is that too much? We have an Orpington that keeps going after one specific hen when they enter the coop. We inspected the other hen for any signs of injuries or possible sickness but we are going on 5 months now that this aggresive behaviour has been happening.
We eventually moved bullied hen into her own coop which she clucks for a good hour or two until the sun sets. Has anyone any suggestions why this maybe happening? Any suggestions is greatly appreciated. Hi Dawn, What happened when you separated the Orpington?
Did you remove her for a few days? It took time and patience but worked out great. It gets sub zero temperature here. What is the harm in a small heating lamp? Born 9 April One hen has matured faster than the other two. Is this unusual? I have about twenty partridge rock and ten misc. They are all about eleven months old now. They started laying well and suddenly stopped. The food is the same, plenty of water, clean roosts, nesting boxes and plenty of space for ranging.
I am stumped. Any of these sound familiar? I love the way you care about the chickens and your enthusiasm! I recently tried vinegar, water and sweet orange essential oil. Does anyone have a any advice or thoughts on this? Thank you. I use the deep litter method, which means the coop only needs cleaning about once a year. It is easy to clean and it is useful for heating during winter season. Hey Debbie, I use wood shavings on the floor and a piece of plywood under the roost as a poop board and dump the poop in the garden then spray that off every few days.
I also spray the coop with water every few months and change all of the shavings. I also change out the plywood every year with a new piece of plywood.
Does anyone have a good opinion on what kind of coop should get because I want to be able to clean out their coop. I loved how nice my Leghorn girls turned out this year and hoping for more! Also getting Easter Eggers and Marans! I cant wait! Almost three years ago I picked up 12 Golden Comets I think. At about five months old they began laying and over the next 20 months I picked up about 75 eggs a week.
My neighbors and grandkids loved the girls. The girls follow them everywhere. I kept them loose in the fruit orchard and they would go into their cage to lay, eat or sleep. I feed them 20 percent laying pellets and all the fruit they can eat. Six months ago I picked up six Rhode Island Reds and they have started laying now. The eggs are smaller and less frequent. They are alright, but I am getting more Golden Comets soon. I enjoyed the article and posts, thank you.
I did not know artificial lights were bad for my hens it gets really cold here in the winter so I put up heat lamps. I have noticed some days I was getting more eggs. I love this post, it helps me decide on what chicken to get for both eggs and meat.. I am planning of getting a chicken — rhode island red.
Atleast 10 for start up. We have one Golden Comet who loves my wife. Follows here like the Pied Piper -: She lays eggs per week. All large to extra large brown eggs. Every once in a while she will lay a jumbo egg. Am planning to get 3 or 4 more b4 winter sets in. My family of 7 has 8 chickens of mixed breeds.
We always have plenty of eggs and occasionally give away a couple dozen eggs when we have too many. Thank you for all the great information and suggestions. We have 8 fairly young Redrock chicks. But we definitely have at least 3 Roosters. They are all close to a bit over 12 weeks old now,and very outgoing and friendly.
I have 3 buff orpington, 3 speckled sussex, and 1 americauna. They are 7 mo old and have been laying for about a month now. In general, hens become mature enough to lay eggs around six months of age, though this varies by breed.
The first eggs laid may have soft shells or abnormal shapes. Healthy hens are able to lay an egg about once a day, but may occasionally skip a day. Some hens will never lay eggs. This is often due to a genetic defect but may have other causes, such as poor diet. Hens must have enough calcium in their diets in order to produce the hard shells of eggs.
Contact a veterinarian if one of your hens seems to be having trouble laying eggs. The reproductive system of hens consists of an ovary and an oviduct. Although hens are born with two ovaries, one will shrink and become non-functional. The remaining healthy ovary is where the development of the egg begins. It takes about 24 to 28 hours for a hen to develop an egg. The yolk is created in the ovary and, when ready, gets ejected into the first part of the oviduct, called the infundibulum.
This is where fertilization takes place if the hen has mated.
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