Egg Production: How It Works

With a puzzled look, the mailman has just handed over your new baby chicks. Even the least observant among us could readily see that it will be a while before these peeping fluff balls begin laying eggs. But how long will that be? And how does it work, anyway?

When a pullet (female chicken) is born, her body holds as many as 4000 ova, which are undeveloped yolks.  When she begins laying – usually around 24 weeks – the eggs will initially be small, with one laid only every 3 or 4 days.  At around 32 weeks of age, laying will increase to about two eggs every three days, and the eggs will reach a normal size.

One at a time, the ova will grow into full size yolks, and drop into the oviduct : a 24” long tube that surrounds the yolk in egg white and encloses it in a hard shell.  The process  takes about 24 hours, and which point the egg is ready to be laid.

The total number of eggs a hen can ever lay is limited to the number of ova she was born with, but few chickens will live long enough to lay all 4000. ; most laying hens will produce somewhere around 1000 eggs in their lifetime.

In her first year, a healthy laying hen produces about 250 eggs, and at around 18 months of age, the molt process begins.  During the molt, which happens once a year – typically in the fall- old feathers gradually fall out and are replaced with new ones.  The process takes about three months, and few  if any eggs will be laid during this time because a hen will divert all of her energy to growing new feathers.

With the molt process complete, and donning her chic new coat of feathers, a hen will begin laying again. While the eggs are larger, typically the amount of eggs will taper to around 200 eggs per year.

Ultimately the number of eggs a hen produces depends on a set of factors including breed, health, living conditions, and weather.  The ideal temperature range for optimum laying is between 45 and 80 degrees, and laying tapers off when it is below or above that range.

Because shorter day lengths will eventually dip below 14 hours, even healthy hens will cease laying in Winter. An easy solution to this is to install a 60 watt light bulb in the coop, combining the light with natural daylight to provide at least 14 hours of continuous light.