Chicken life cycle and laying eggs questions?

Question

1. At what age does a chicken start laying eggs?

2. How do egg farms count eggs that are lay? is it per day or per month?

3. How many eggs do chicken lay? (per day/ per month)

4. approximately at what age does a hen stop laying eggs?

please enlighten me..thanks!

Answer 1

1.They are taken from breeding farms when they are 18 to 20 weeks old.

2.The vast majority of these are put into cages, usually alongside 4 other birds, with a single cage housing the 5 birds averaging only 40 x 55 cm in size. Each hen can produce 300 eggs per year. On average a caged hen lays only 15 more eggs a year than a hen that has been kept in a barn or free-range conditions. This compares with only 12-20 eggs produced each year by their wild ancestors.

So I'm not completely sure since I didn't find any proof... but as far as I know, they count them per day.  The eggs roll onto a band and are counted.

3.Chickens never lay more than one egg per day. As a rule, chickens lay in the morning, but each day a little later. Sometimes the last egg of a series is produced in the early afternoon. When it gets too late, they take the next day off.

4.  After 12 months the hen’s egg-laying ability starts to decline, they are then considered ‘spent’ and slaughtered.

Answer 2

Your question will depend on the type of chicken. Not all chickens are created equal. The most prolific breeds tend to start laying about 6 mo old, however, the eggs start off being small and getting larger as the hen ages. I don't know how farms count their eggs but i expect in the summer to get about 1 egg a day from my rhode island reds although in reality it's closer to about 5 eggs every 6 days. This is the highest rate and slows slightly in the winter. Many breeds, however, slow down a lot or even stop laying during the winter.  Many breeds never lay this many eggs. Generally the first year or two are the most prolific years for laying. After this, the production drops off somewhat so that each year they lay less and less eggs per week. This page is good for determining which breed is best for productivity and cold weather laying http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/c...