How Many Eggs Does A Hen Lay Per Day?

Chicken has several different breeds, just like other animals, and the hen’s egg production usually depends on the breed from which it descends, but many chicken breeds often share the same number of daily egg production, so that the hen can only produce one egg per day, This is due to the fact that the chicken needs almost a full day to complete the egg production process, and the largest record number recorded for egg production per day was 7 eggs, and one of the chicken breeds produced 371 eggs within 364 days, i.e. in one year.

The chicken begins to produce eggs when it reaches the age of 18 weeks, so that it becomes qualified to lay only one egg per day, and this is due to the fact that the formation of the egg needs 24 to 26 hours to produce it, and the chicken after it lays eggs needs a break every year to get rid of and replace the feathers, and lay eggs The chicken lays approximately 250-300 eggs in the first year of its life, and it should be noted that when the chicken lays eggs for the first time, the eggs are small, then their size begins to increase each time, and the chicken reaches its peak egg production at the age of 30 weeks, then production begins to decrease in its second year , so that it is 80% of the production of the first year of the chicken, and production continues to decline every year.

How to form eggs in chickens

The following is the way eggs are formed in chickens:

At the outset, it should be noted that the hen’s reproductive system consists of an ovary and an oviduct, which are the basis for egg production.

The hen’s ovary makes the yolk.

When the yolk of the egg is complete, it is expelled from the ovary into the first part of the oviduct, so that the function of this part lies in receiving sperm from the rooster in the event of mating to fertilize the yolk that arrived from the ovary.

The egg white begins to form approximately 30 minutes after the egg has moved into the oviduct, then after 3 hours approximately half of the white is formed, and the egg travels along the oviduct.

Then the inner and outer egg membranes begin to form, and this process takes about an hour to two hours.

After the yolk is produced, the white is formed around it, and the membrane formation process is completed, the egg moves to the uterus to form the hard outer shell, and this process continues for 18 to 24 hours.

After completing the process of forming the hard shell, the hen pushes the egg through the vagina out of her body through the back hole.

Why does egg production decrease in winter?

Egg production decreases in the winter to an average of an egg approximately every 3 days and this is considered a very low production. It usually comes to mind that the reason is low temperatures, but in fact the chicken needs light to produce eggs and this is due to the fact that the reproductive system of the chicken is very sensitive Regarding the number of hours of exposure to light per day, so that the hen produces eggs better when exposed to light from 14 to 16 hours per day, but in the winter, the hours of exposure of the hen to light are reduced to 9-10 hours per day, which leads to a decrease in her egg production or a stop . The hen is separated from the eggs , and in order to avoid this, it is preferable to use artificial lighting by shining light on the hen before sunrise for a period of 4 hours to increase production.

Other factors affecting egg production

There are factors other than light that directly affect egg production, including the following:

Age: Age affects a hen’s egg production, so that in the first two years of her life, a hen has a greater ability to produce, and reaches her peak egg production in the first 8 weeks of starting production.

Nutrition: A balanced diet for the hen plays a major role in egg production, as it should mainly include energy, protein, calcium, sodium, and vitamin D. It should also be noted that the feed and leftovers of human food are not sufficient for feeding.

Diseases: Diseases mainly affect the health of chickens and their ability to produce eggs, such as bird pox and infectious bronchitis, which may affect all chickens in one place, and other diseases.

Molting: It is a natural process in which chickens shed their old feathers, and during this period they produce less eggs than other periods, as all the chickens energy is focused on growing new feathers instead of laying eggs.

Deprivation of water: Water is a major source in the life of chickens, so it must be available at all times, and it must be cold, clean and uncontaminated