THE AVERAGE LAYING CYCLE FOR A CHICKEN
Age and the number of daylight hours have an impact on how many eggs hens lay. The hen's ability to go broody, or sit on eggs with the purpose of producing chicks, also has a significant impact. In a period of one to two weeks, broody chickens deposit a clutch of eggs, sitting on them for the next three weeks until the chicks hatch.
Egg Laying
At around 5 months of age, pullets—female hens in their first year—start producing eggs. Compared to the eggs laid by adult birds, these young birds' eggs are smaller. No matter if there is a rooster around, hens will lay eggs, albeit those eggs will not be fertilized. When there is enough light, young chickens typically lay one egg every day, producing an average of roughly 270 eggs each year. Hens above the age of 2 years may only lay an egg once or twice a week due to a decline in productivity as they get older.
Light of Day
Hens require at least 14 hours of sunshine to lay their eggs. Hens who regularly deposited eggs in the spring and summer begin to slow down as fall approaches and may stop altogether in the winter. These chickens won't lay again until spring if things continue as they are now. However, you may trick their bodies into believing it's time to lay eggs by using artificial illumination in the hen house. So that the extra hours take place in the otherwise dark predawn, set the lights on a timer.
