How old do chickens have to be to lay eggs?

Question

How old do chickens have to be to lay eggs?

Answer 1

6 to 8 months and you cant touch the eggs they will turn into yolk and whites ! wait 4 them to grow like there mother ! so you could take there eggs !

Answer 2

  5-6 months old BUT hens also need a minimum of 12hrs daylight to help promote laying. Hens will slack off of laying in the winter months and primarily because of the lack of consistent sunlight.

  During hot weather,molting or if the hen is stressed,they will also slack off of laying.

  They also need Layer Krumbles to help with the vitamins/protein needed to produce eggs.    I also feed my hens   Oyster Shell which helps to strengthen the egg shell.

Good Luck

Answer 3

Depends on the breed. The smallest breeds such as Egyption Fayoumis can start laying as early as 4 months, the bigger breeds such as Giant Cochins may wait until about 8 months. Average is about 6 months.

There are other factors such as how much sunlight they are getting and what kind of diet they were raised on and are currently on.

Answer 4

18 to 22 weeks old.  This all depends on how good their diet is and how happy the hen is.

The eggs are usually quite small and interesting at first!!!!!

For more tips and chicken related fun have a look at http://www.henkeeping.co.uk

Answer 5

22 weeks

Answer 6

they can be six months or older