How Often Does a Chicken Lay Eggs?

How often does a chicken lay eggs? It’s an important question to know the answer to, especially if you plan on owning backyard chickens.

The ability of a hen to lay eggs depends on several factors like its breed and age. For example, some breeds naturally produce 6 eggs in a week, while others may lay only 1 egg in one or two weeks.

Similarly, younger hens produce more than older hens. If you are interested in more about how often backyard hens lay eggs, then keep reading.

In this article, we have talked about three common categories of breeds and the most popular chicken breeds that produce several eggs a week.

How Often Do Chickens Lay Eggs?

So, how often does a chicken lay eggs?

How often a chicken lays eggs highly depends on several factors. However, chicken breed and feed are the main factors.

Some breeds of chickens can lay 5 to 6 eggs per week and are considered good egg layers, while others may lay only 1 egg per week.

Types of Chicken Breeds

Chicken breeds are usually divided into three categories.

Let’s have a look at each category to understand its meaning and egg-laying capacity.

Production Chicken

A production chicken (or production hen) is the key if you’re looking for a high egg count. As the name indicates, production chickens are bred to produce many eggs. They are efficient producers, which means they get less input (chicken feed) but produce more output (egg).

These types of chickens are also called the true or best egg producers.

One of the popular examples of production chickens is the ISA Brown breed. Healthy hens of this breed produce 6 eggs in a week.

Dual-Purpose Chicken

Again, the name says it all. A dual-purpose chicken can produce plenty of eggs as well as meat.

Its ability to produce eggs is not as great as production chicken’s ability, but it still produces more eggs than heritage chicken.

It is also large enough to send it to the factories for meat production when it stops laying eggs.

One common example of dual-purpose chicken is Wyandottes. It can lay around 4 eggs in a week.   

Heritage Chicken

Our forefathers actually bred heritage chickens. They have good traits that make them able to survive longer than common breeds.

They do not produce as many eggs as production hens do. But they lay eggs for an extended time period.

They also start laying eggs late comparatively. However, the egg-laying capacity of heritage chickens varies from one breed of chicken to the other.

One breed may produce a few eggs a week, while others may produce one egg in weeks.

Ancona breed is a common example of heritage chickens. It can lay from 3 to 4 eggs per week.

Popular Chicken Breeds That Lay Eggs Often

Below is the list of different breeds of chicken that are popular for being good egg layers.

Plymouth Rocks

Plymouth Rocks are a popular breed of domestic chickens commonly found in America. It belongs to the dual-purpose category of chickens, which means it is raised for both eggs and meat. It lays large and brown eggs.

Plymouth Rocks are found in different varieties, but their type that has black and white fur is the most popular.

If you are looking for healthy egg-laying hens, then this breed of dual-purpose chickens might be the right choice for you. It can produce 4 to 5 eggs in a week.

This breed also has a calm temperament, and it is socially friendly. It makes it suitable for families that have children and other pets.

Leghorns

Leghorn is the popular breed that often comes to our minds when you think about laying hens. They have white furs and a red comb on the head.

Leghorn is another breed of dual-purpose chickens. It produces white eggs that are large in size. It has an amazing egg-laying ability and can produce up to 6 eggs in a week.

They are flighty and intelligent in nature. They are also vocal compared to the other breeds. It makes these laying hens more suitable for rural households.

Rhode Island Reds

As the name suggests, this breed was first developed in Rhode Island. It is one of the most popular breeds all over the world that is used for both eggs and meat.

Healthy Rhode Island Red chickens lay eggs that are large and brown. They can lay around 5 to 6 eggs in a week, or you can say one egg per day.

This breed is very friendly, motherly, and is an excellent egg layer. If you want to add a laidback and friendly chicken breed to your backyard chickens, then you should consider Rhode Island Reds.

Australorps

This breed has an Australian origin. It is a comparatively new breed, yet it got very famous due to its great ability to lay around 300 eggs during the peak egg production year.

It lays the first egg when it is 5 to 7 months of age.

The Australorp chicken has various varieties, but its black kind is more common. Its egg size is large, while the color is brown.

Its black furs shine in the sunlight and look very elegant. However, this breed is prone to overheating due to the black furs, so you should keep it in shaded areas.

Sussex

This is another breed of dual-purpose chickens on the list. As its name indicates, it originated in Sussex, England. It exists in eight different colors and produces eggs of brown or creamy in the shade.

A healthy young hen of the Sussex breed can lay around 5 eggs per week.

It is calm and socially friendly in nature. It also likes grazing in the garden freely. If you want to have your own chickens that you can tame easily, then the Sussex breed is the right choice for you.

Hybrids

Hybrid chickens are actually not a single breed. Instead, they are a collection of breeds that have been crossed for at least two generations. Hybrids are formed by the crossing over of 3 to 4 different pure chicken breeds.

A healthy hybrid hen can lay 6 eggs in a week. However, their egg size and color vary from one breed to the other.

Hybrids are usually resistant to diseases and have a friendly temperament.

As compared to pure chicken breeds, hybrids are affordable and readily available. For example, Easter Eggers are an example of popular hybrid breeds.

Easter Eggers

Another popular breed of hens is Easter Eggers. They are well known for their ability to produce eggs of different colors, for instance, blue eggs, green eggs, etc.

In addition, they vary greatly in fur color and pattern as they are produced by crossbreeding of different pure breeds. A healthy chicken can lay 4 eggs per week.

The Easter Egger hens are late layers compared to the other breeds. However, once they start laying eggs, they produce large colored eggs. Their eggs can also be extra-large in size.

Easter Eggers are friendly, calm, and easy to train. They enjoy treats and have a small size. These attributes make them suitable for a family flock.

Ancona

Ancona first originated in Italy, but now it is more common in the United Kingdom and the United States. It produces 3 to 4 eggs in a week. Its eggs are small and white.

This breed is very similar to the Plymouth Rock breed appearance-wise, except it is smaller.

However, it is super active and likes flying, which does not make it a suitable pet for people who like their pets to be calm and docile.

Buff Orpingtons

It is a British breed that first originated in the nineteenth century as a dual-purpose chicken. However, with time, due to its beauty and docile nature, it became a show chicken breed.

Buff Orpingtons can produce 3 to 4 eggs in a week. They are large and light brown. Due to the friendly nature of this breed, it is very suitable for families with children.

If you want chickens that like getting the attention of their owners, then it is the right chicken breed for you.

Hamburg

The Hamburg is an old chicken breed that is believed to have originated in Holland. It comes in a variety of feather colors and is one of the attractive breeds.

It is a good egg-laying hen breed with the ability to produce 3 to 4 eggs per week. Its eggs are small to medium in size. They also have a glossy shell.

Hamburgs like to roam in an open space. When they are kept in cages or chicken pens, they tend to become a bit aggressive.

What Affects the Egg-Laying Pattern?

Some external and internal factors can influence your hen’s egg-laying pattern. If they laid 5 eggs last week, that does not necessarily mean they will lay the same number of eggs this week again.

Below is the list of the common factors that affect a hen’s egg-laying pattern.

• Season: Many hens lay only a few eggs when the days become short, and there is a lack of sunlight. Eggs produce more eggs when there are more hours of light.
• Age: hens produce eggs more abundantly during the first year.
• Protein deficiency: As eggs are made up of proteins, a hen deficient in protein will lay fewer eggs.
• Food: If your hens get too many treats and less healthy chicken feed, then they may lay fewer eggs. Make sure to try layer feed, which is specifically formulated feed for hens who will lay eggs for human consumption.

When Do Chickens Begin Laying Eggs Regularly?

It mainly depends on the chicken breeds. On average, chickens begin laying eggs when they are around 6 months old.

However, some breeds start producing eggs earlier, like when they are 16 to 18 weeks old.

On the contrary, some breeds take more time and start laying eggs after 28 to 32 weeks of age.

When Do Chickens Stop Laying Eggs?

The average life expectancy of chickens is 8 to 10 years. As hens get older, their ability to produce eggs declines and they start laying only fewer eggs.

Hens produce the most eggs during their first year of egg production. After that, the number of eggs declines every year, and they reach their lowest number when a hen turns 6 or 7 years of age.

You should also know that hens naturally lay only fewer eggs during the winter months. Some breeds of chickens even take a natural break from laying eggs in cold weather.

Do Chickens Lay Eggs Without A Rooster?

Yes, chickens do lay eggs without a rooster. It means you do not need to buy a rooster to accompany your hens when they can still lay eggs.

However, the egg produced without a rooster will be unfertilized, and you cannot hatch it into a baby chick. Therefore, you will need a rooster if you want chicks from eggs.

Why Do Chickens Lay Unfertilized Eggs?

Eggs naturally develop in the body of hens before being fertilized. A chicken cannot tell whether its egg will get fertilized or not. So, it just lays it and hopes for it to be fertilized.

Some breeds have the instinct to sit on their eggs, while others just walk away after laying eggs in a safe place. It gives you a chance to pick fresh eggs and eat them as you want.

How Much Is A Chicken That Lays Eggs?

The cost of laying hens depends on their breed. On average, their cost may vary from $20 to $50. If the breed is fancy and not easily available, then be ready to pay a premium price.

You can save the cost of laying hens by buying them when they are mere chicks. The price of a small chick can be from $3 to $5.

Summing Up: How Often Does a Chicken Lay Eggs?

So, how often does a chicken lay eggs?

A hen needs 23 to 27 hours to produce and lay an egg. Therefore, we can say that the best egg-laying hens can produce around 6 eggs in a week.

As hens get older, their frequency of laying eggs declines. They produce the maximum number of eggs when it is their first year of laying eggs.

Go through the list of chicken breeds again if you are looking for a good addition to your backyard chicken flock.