• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Peasant's Daughter logo

  • About
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • BBQ
    • Cheesemaking
    • Mediterranean
    • Seafood
    • Wild Game
  • Homesteading
  • Farmhouse Restoration
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Homesteading
  • Farmhouse Restoration
  • Life + Stories
  • Contact
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Homesteading » Livestock » Chickens

    How Many Eggs Does A Chicken Lay A Day?

    Published: Oct 20, 2021 · Modified: Apr 9, 2022 by The Peasant's Daughter · This post may contain affiliate links · Published under: Posted Under: Chickens

    When calculating how many chickens you need to get, you're probably asking yourself – how many eggs does a chicken lay a day? Let's dive into this topic and figure it out.

    farmer woman picking up organic eggs in henhouse - Focus on hands
    how many eggs does a chicken lay a day? It depends.
    Jump to:
    • How Many Eggs Does A Chicken Lay A Day?
    • Let's Do Some Chicken Egg Laying Math

    How Many Eggs Does A Chicken Lay A Day?

    This will depend based on the following variables:

    • The breed of chicken
    • The age of the chicken
    • The season
    • Whether the chicken is molting
    • Health
    • Feed

    Breed

    Some breeds of chickens are primarily bred for their egg-laying capacity. Others are bred to grow quickly and provide an abundance of meat. Then there are the heritage dual-purpose breeds that provide a family with both eggs and meat.

    We raise Orpingtons and Bresse, both dual-purpose heritage breeds that are slow to mature and slow to start laying.

    We also recently got Olive Eggers and Azure Blue chicks to ramp up egg production alongside the Red Ranger breed which is raised primarily for meat but knows as a good dual-purpose egg-layer too.

    I'm particularly excited for the Azures as they should lay 295 BLUE eggs annually!

    Age

    Depending on the breed of chicken you choose, they may take time to start laying, especially if they are dual-purpose heritage breeds that tend to take a longer time to start.

    Remember that if you are incubating and hatching your own eggs, it will take time for the baby chicks to grow up and start being productive too.

    Season

    Chickens will slow down or even stop laying in the winter unless you take measures to extend their laying season.

    Recommended Reading:

    How Cold Is Too Cold For Chickens?

    10 Steps To Winterize Your Chicken Coop

    Feeding Free-Ranged Pastured Chickens During Winter

    Molting

    Chickens molt. They shed feathers and then grow new ones. While they are molting, they will not lay eggs as their energy is directed towards the newly emerging feathers.

    Health

    A chicken that has stopped laying in the spring and summer under ideal conditions may have something else wrong with her.

    Feed

    We feed chicken grower feed and supplement calcium on the side. You need to do either this or feed specifically formulated layer feed for chickens.

    Let's Do Some Chicken Egg Laying Math

    Let's assume that you have young pullets that are about to start laying. They are disease-free, stress-free, fed a healthy and nutritious diet. It is spring and warm and the days are getting longer. How many eggs can you expect to get each day assuming each hen will give you 4-5 eggs each week?

    • 2 hens will give you 10 eggs each week.
    • 3 hens will give you 15 eggs each week.
    • 4 hens will give you 20 eggs each week.
    • 5 hens will give you 25 eggs each week
    • 6 hens will give you 30 eggs each week.
    • 7 hens will give you 35 eggs each week.
    • 8 hens will give you 40 eggs each week.
    • 9 hens will give you 45 eggs each week.
    • 10 hens will give you 50 eggs each week.

    And so on and so forth. I'm sure you get the picture. Please keep in mind these are just general guidelines to help you decide how many chickens you need to buy to get the number of eggs you want.

    The figures above are approximate and may be slightly less or slightly more.

    Figure out how many eggs you and/or your family eat each week and work from there.

    And we both know you will end up with more chickens than planned, so build your coop accordingly.

    Learn More About Chickens:

    • Keeping Ducks And Chickens Together {Yes You Can}
    • Salmon Faverolles {The Beautiful French Chicken That Lays PINK Eggs!}
    • Plymouth Rock {Popular For Good Reason}
    • Dominique Chicken {America's Oldest Heritage Breed}
    • Ameraucana Chicken {The Purebreed Blue Egg Layer}
    • The Australorp Chicken {Top-Choice Dual-Purpose Breed}
    • Wyandotte Chicken {The Most Beautiful Dual-Purpose Heritage Breed?}
    • The MANY Benefits Of Fermenting Chicken Feed {& How To Do It}

    Browse ALL The Chicken Articles ➳

    Recommended Books

    Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens. This is a classic that everyone should have if they are planning on raising chickens. This book technically has everything you need within the pages. That being said, if you are looking for more organic and natural approaches to chicken-keeping, I recommend this book alongside something that will serve that purpose too.

    The Small-Scale Poultry Flock: An All-Natural Approach to Raising Chickens and Other Fowl for Home and Market Growers. This is my favourite. The most comprehensive guide to date on raising all-natural poultry for the small-scale farmer, homesteader, and professional grower. The Small-Scale Poultry Flock offers a practical and integrative model for working with chickens and other domestic fowl, based entirely on natural systems.

    « 11 Real Food Recipes High In Vitamin D
    Alone in Iceland: Hiking the Fimmvörðuháls Pass »

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Jana! The Peasant's Daughter is a journey through the recipes and stories of the women who came before me. I'm a new mom and new homesteader who left the city life behind for a rural country life of more peace and simplicity. We're renovating an 1860's Victorian farmhouse and I'll be sharing real-food, nutrient-dense recipes (almost) always made from scratch. Follow me along in my new country life as I raise and grow our food, and strive for more freedom and self-sufficiency.

    More about me →

    Popular Recipes & Articles

    • How To Smoke Whole Trout on The Traeger Grill
    • Smoked Maple Salmon Jerky on The Traeger Grill
    • Raising Red Ranger Chickens For Meat {2022 Cost Breakdown}
    • 10 Chicken Breeds That Lay Blue Eggs (With Pictures!)
    • Why I'm No Longer Vegan | The Journey To Recovery
    • Make Sour Milk From Raw Milk | Naturally Fermented Dairy
    • Old Fashioned Fresh Apple Cake Recipe
    • How To Make Perfect Risotto Every Time

    Footer

    Newsletter

    Follow Me

    • Email
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

    Copyright © 2022 The Peasant's Daughter