How Long Do Backyard Hens Keep Laying Eggs?
How Long Do Backyard Hens Keep Laying Eggs?
Backyard hens lay most prolifically in their first two to three years, then production tapers off each year after that. Many hens keep laying occasionally well into their senior years, and a well-kept hen can live eight to ten years or more. University extension poultry programs note that a hen is essentially born with her lifetime supply of eggs, so the question is not whether she stops, but how gradually she slows.
The Year by Year Decline
Hens usually begin laying around five to six months old and hit their peak in the first year, when a good layer can produce close to 250 to 300 eggs. After that, output drops by roughly 10 to 20 percent each year. By her second year a hen often lays about 80 percent of her first-year total, around 70 percent in her third year, and so on. By age five or six, many hens lay only sporadically, sometimes just a few eggs a month.
Molts and Seasonal Pauses
The yearly decline is not the only reason the egg basket gets lighter. Each fall, mature hens go through a molt, dropping and regrowing feathers, and they typically stop laying for several weeks to a couple of months while they do. Shorter winter days slow laying too. So even a productive hen will have natural pauses built into her year. If you want more on seasonal slowdowns, see why your chickens stopped laying eggs.
Fewer Eggs, Often Larger
Here is a small consolation: as hens age, the eggs they do lay often get bigger. Older hens lay less frequently but tend to produce larger eggs than they did as pullets, so what you lose in count you partly gain in size.
Breed Makes a Difference
How long the good laying lasts depends heavily on breed. High-output production breeds, the ones bred to lay nearly every day, tend to burn through their egg supply faster and may slow noticeably after just two or three strong years. Hardy heritage breeds usually lay fewer eggs per year but keep going more steadily over a longer life. If you are choosing a flock, that tradeoff is worth weighing. Our guide on how many eggs to expect from a small flock walks through the numbers.
Keeping Older Hens
A hen that has slowed down is not finished being useful. Older hens still scratch up pests, turn compost, fertilize beds, and make calm, friendly companions. For most backyard keepers, retired layers earn a comfortable spot in the flock as garden helpers and pets, and supporting them with a good year-round diet keeps them healthy. See what to feed your backyard flock year-round in California for the details.
