Hillandale Farms Asks: How Do Chickens Lay Eggs?

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Hillandale Farms explains how chickens lay eggs and the production cycle of laying eggs.

Hillandale Farms on the Production Cycle of Laying Hens.

You will most likely never see how a chicken lays eggs in your lifetime. You can go out each morning to collect the eggs, which will be ready for you. So how does a chicken lay eggs? As Hillandale Farms points out, we don't know exactly how an egg is formed daily, but a miraculous process goes on inside a hen. Female chickens only have one oviduct and one ovary, unlike most female species, which have two. It is in the oviduct that, except for the egg yolk, all parts are formed.

Ninety-nine percent of the yolk material is already formed within 7-9 days before the chicken lays the egg, which means this process is pretty much non-stop when a hen is in her prime. When the ovary releases the yolk, it falls into the hen's abdominal cavity, and ovulation occurs. If you want to know how long chickens lay eggs, that depends on many factors, including breed, food supply, and living conditions. However, you can count on consistent egg production for at least one to four years. Egg production decreases as time goes by, adds Hillandale Farms. Keep reading to know more about the cycle of laying eggs.

Chicken Egg Production Cycle

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As a rule, Hillandale Farms says chickens never lay more than one egg daily. A laying chicken will produce eggs for several years, but the layers are typically kept for 18 months. Egg production starts at about 22 weeks of age, increases sharply, usually reaching a peak at about 32-35 weeks, and then declines at the rate of half a week. It is thus an economical practice to replace the layers at 18 months.

The egg production cycle of hens may be typically divided into three stages:

Phase 1: From 19 weeks of age to 42 weeks of age, the chicken is expected to:

Increase egg production from zero to approximately 85% production.

Increase its body weight to attain mature body weight; and

Produce eggs that gradually increase the size from 36 grams per egg at 19 weeks to about 58 grams at 42 weeks.

Phase 2: From 43 to 62 weeks, egg production declines to 65 percent.

Phase 3: From 63 weeks up to 72 weeks. The production is less than 65 percent.

Hillandale Farms began in 1958 when Orland Bethel switched career paths and borrowed money to purchase an egg company, which became Hillandale Farms. Today, it raises more than 20 million chickens for eggs and is among the top five egg producers in the United States. For quick updates, follow this Hillandale Farms page.