Healthy chickens can produce a seemingly never ending stream of eggs, but it doesn’t take much to disrupt the cycle. Any number of internal or external factors can impact egg production. Hens can suddenly feel threatened by a predator, the weather can change or illness can strike the flock. While factors such as breed or seasonal changes are beyond a chicken owner’s control, much can be done to help maximize egg laying and get the most benefit from chicken ownership.
HEATHER LUSK
Nutritional Factors
Once hens begin laying eggs, they should be consuming a layer chicken feed. This provides them with the nutrients needed to lay eggs and stay healthy. A layer feed should have a minimum of 16% protein and between 3% and 4% calcium. Most layer feeds will provide necessary nutrients, such as amino acids, vitamins, and phosphorus.
Though layer feeds usually include calcium, it’s not enough to meet most birds’ needs. Calcium becomes even more critical when egg-laying is in full swing. Hens use a lot of calcium to produce eggs, and it’s necessary to create thick shells.
Hens can self-regulate the amount of calcium they require, so rather than adding excess calcium to feed, provide hens with a separate bowl with oyster shells, crushed limestone or crushed eggshells from your own flock.
Molting
When the fall coop is covered with so many feathers that it looks like someone staged a giant pillow fight, it’s molting time. Most hens will completely stop laying during molting to allow their bodies to recover nutrients lost from the many months of producing eggs. Molting continues until new feathers have been regrown, which can be aided by extra protein. A layer feed with 18% protein can speed the regrowth of feathers, and it helps hens maintain body heat in cold months. Mealworms, high-protein fortified feed, peanuts, or fortified scratch are easy protein additions or give hens treats such as scraps of cheese, meat, fish, or even scrambled eggs.
Feeding scraps or treats to healthy chickens should be done with care. Only 10% of a hen’s diet should consist of additional food to avoid weight gain. Fat hens are poor layers, so regulate the quantity of extra foods hens receive.
HEATHER LUSK
Happy Pens, Happy Hens
The best way to promote egg laying is to ensure that hens have a comfortable environment, feeling safe and secure with their interior and exterior living spaces.
Healthy chickens need plenty of room to stretch their wings, scratch the earth and take dust baths. They require easy access to food and water, a coop with a high spot for roosting at night, and a comfortable nest that feels protected for laying eggs.
Hens are social and curious creatures. Tapping into their curiosity can also keep them happy. A few times a year, I hang a cabbage in the chicken run just beyond my hens’ reach. It’s challenging for them — and entertaining for the humans — to figure out how high they must jump to get a bite.
Because of their ingrained curiosity, hens can benefit from free-range time when possible. My hens like to explore the yard and find insects, worms, and an occasional toad. Investigating new places and unearthing new discoveries in the yard is beneficial to their brains.
Let There Be Light
Maximizing egg production starts with understanding how eggs are created. Most chickens reproduce eggs every 24 to 27 hours. Ovulation is triggered by sunlight, so if an egg is laid at the end of the day, the trigger may not occur until the next morning. High-producing hens will lay five to six eggs each week. Shorter days leading into winter will naturally slow egg making.
Powerhouse Egg BoostersEgg production isn’t only about quantity but also improving the quality of eggs. For eggs with firm shells and golden yolks, consider adding these supplements to your hens’ diet. Calcium: Once hens begin laying eggs, calcium is critical. Crushed oyster shells are an easy and no-fuss way to offer needed calcium to egg layers. Toss a handful of oyster shells into the run each morning, or elect to leave a bowl of oyster shells in a spot protected from the elements. When hens have access to calcium at all times of day, they can easily self-regulate their supplemental needs. For a low-cost alternative, crush eggshells from the flock. Make sure they’re well-washed with no residual egg white, and completely dry before crushing into small pieces rather than a fine powder. Peppermint: Adding a small amount of peppermint extract to layer feed or mixing in dried peppermint leaves can help increase egg production in older hens by regulating metabolism. A 2023 study showed that peppermint helped older hens lay more eggs with improved egg quality. Some chickens are just as happy eating fresh peppermint leaves straight from the plant. Because of its hardiness, planting peppermint near a run can be a treat and may help deter pests. Garlic: Whether it’s in powder form mixed with feed or a crushed clove added to water, multiple studies indicate that garlic may slightly lower the amount of cholesterol in eggs. Garlic has also been known to increase egg production. Garlic should only be added once or twice a week, and water should be changed frequently, altering fresh with garlicky water. Some hens may not like the taste, so be sure that plain water is available for finicky birds. Greens: Including fresh greens with a hen’s diet creates the deep yellow yolks that are healthier and more appealing than pale watery ones. In the summer, hens can get nutrients from green grass. In the winter consider supplementing with leafy greens such as kelp, kale or broccoli leaves. Marigolds: While adding marigolds can artificially boost the color of egg yolks, it provides health benefits for chickens with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. Feeding chickens carrots or sweet potatoes can also artificially deepen the yellow yolk while simultaneously adding nutrients to your hens’ diet. Dried marigolds can be crushed and added to feed, or plant the flowers around the edges of the run. My chickens devour marigolds, so I make sure they can only reach the tops of the plants and the roots are beyond their reach. |
Most hens prefer not to lay eggs when temperatures are extremely hot or cold, so the onset of winter usually means fewer eggs. For most chicken owners, sunlight and temperature are factors beyond their control, but others aren’t so easily deterred.
In the summer, a fan in the coop can keep hens cool enough to be comfortable and keep the eggs coming. Adding a heater and lights to a coop in the winter can also boost production but may be risky to hens. With the amount of pine shavings, dust and feathers in a coop, heat lamps can be deadly. Chickens may peck at exposed wires, causing damage to themselves or the coop.
Hens are biologically suited for cold weather, so their body temperature can’t properly regulate if the interior is too warm. Rather than adding heat, consider properly insulating the coop to provide protection from the wind and keep chickens as warm as possible.
Some chicken owners add artificial lights to the coop set to a timer, triggering ovulation in winter. For those who don’t intend to keep their layers past a few years, adding light can be a practical method to restart egg production after molting, yet it can have downfalls.
Winter months are important for a hen’s health to replenish nutrients and recover from egg laying during the warmer months. Robbing them of this healing time may impact their ability to continue laying in their older years.
HEATHER LUSK
Ruffling Feathers
One of the quickest ways to stop healthy chickens from laying is stress. If new chickens are introduced into the flock, if the food and water supply is disrupted or if a predator is stalking the coop, egg production may decrease or stop completely. When a hawk attacked and killed one of my hens, the survivors didn’t resume laying for more than a week. Even then, egg output was sporadic. I made the hens feel safe by ensuring they had fresh food, water, and plenty of treats every day, and eventually, egg laying was back on track.
Introducing pullets into a flock of healthy chickens can also lead to stress for the old-timers. Their primal instinct surfaces and hens feel stressed by the potential lack of resources. Though my hens always have food and water in the coop, I place an additional container of each in the run to minimize their anxiety. Once all the hens have integrated and egg laying is on track, I remove the additional resources.
If hens are happy, have plenty of space to roam, are well-fed and feel safe and secure, then egg laying often naturally follow.
A Breed Apart
The first two to three years are generally the most productive in a laying hen’s life, yet not all breeds are the same. Some can lay as many as 300 eggs for the first several years before production decreases, while others are less-abundant producers but more likely to lay when they’re older. Some chicken owners may opt to replace hens when production starts to diminish; alternatively, owners may prefer to encourage hens to continue laying past their prime.
Hybrid birds are cultivated to maximize egg production, but these breeds come with some disadvantages. They are often more prone to disease and have shorter life spans. Some of the most popular hybrid breeds for the most eggs are Rhode Rocks, ISA Browns and Black Stars, each laying more than 300 eggs a year.
Heritage breeds, on the other hand, have a strong genetic makeup that can be beneficial even if they don’t always produce the highest quantity of eggs. These breeds are hardier birds more likely to live longer, more resistant to illness, and often produce eggs until the age of four or five.
Leghorns are well-regarded as the best egg producers among the heritage breeds, churning out as many as 320 eggs each year. Rhode Island Reds are also very popular, laying anywhere from 200 to 300 eggs annually. Australorp, Calico Princess, and Welsummers are also good options for a reliable cache of eggs.
Other heritage breeds may not lay as many eggs but are more likely to continue laying past those initial prime years. A Plymouth Rock is a good choice, laying about 200 eggs a year. Some among this breed have been known to continue laying for ten years.
MUSHY/STOCK.ADOBE.COM
Other Factors
Sometimes healthy chickens stop laying for unexpected reasons. Hens who are broody will not lay, so catching a broody hen on the nest as quickly as possible will keep the egg production going.
If a hen is ill, egg laying is also disrupted. Keeping an eye on each bird’s health also ensures the health of the entire flock. A healthy flock means an abundance of eggs.
Any change in a healthy chickens’ environment can also trigger halted egg production. If all other factors seem to be normal, investigate whether strange noises, unseen predators or bullying within the flock could be happening. All of these could create enough stress to pause egg production.
What works for one chicken owner might not work for another. The best way to maximize egg production is to try different things and find the right combination for your own flock to be happy and healthy.
This story about healthy chickens and egg laying was written for Chickens magazine by Heather Lusk. Click here to subscribe.
