Laying & age

How Long Do Hens Keep Laying? Egg Production by Age

Field guide · Updated October 13, 2026 · about 5 min read

A hen does not lay at the same rate for her whole life. Production starts in her first months, peaks within her first year, and then falls off a little more with each season. Extension services and feed researchers describe the same broad curve; this page puts their numbers side by side.

When laying starts and when it peaks

Pullets (young hens) usually lay their first egg at about 18 to 22 weeks of age, depending on breed and season, according to the University of Florida's guide to backyard egg production and the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension. Oregon State University Extension gives 18 to 20 weeks. Arizona Extension adds a useful warning: pullets can look full grown at 14 to 16 weeks, but their reproductive systems mature later.

Production then climbs quickly. University of Florida researchers describe flock production rising to a peak of about 90% (nine eggs per ten hens per day) six to eight weeks after laying begins. Oregon State places peak production at about 35 weeks of age, at a rate greater than 90%, and says the peak lasts about ten weeks before a slow decline. A Purina nutritionist puts the peak at around 30 weeks.

Typical lay rate by year

No single study fits every flock, and the sources below measure slightly different things (flock percentage versus eggs per hen per year). Read the table as a typical shape, not a promise.

Individual variation is large. The University of Florida publication stresses that the drop after two or three years "varies greatly from bird to bird."

Why production falls with age

Oregon State Extension describes what happens as hens get older: molts become more frequent and longer, problems of the ovary or oviduct may appear, and eventually all hens stop laying. A high-producing hen works hard for those eggs — Oregon State notes that her annual egg output is more than ten times her body weight, and after about three years of laying she may have produced more than 30 times her body weight in eggs.

The yearly molt

Molt is the annual rest period when a hen replaces worn feathers and renews her oviduct. Most adult hens molt once a year, usually August through October, and a flock's molt can stretch over several months (Arizona Extension). The University of Florida notes that good layers typically lay for about 50 to 60 weeks before molting, while poorer layers and older hens molt more often and lay less consistently. Pullets hatched in spring or summer don't molt in their first autumn.

Day length, stress and diet

Not every pause is about age. Shorter autumn days slow or stop laying (see our page on supplemental lighting). Oregon State lists moving, handling, overheating, fright and lack of food or water as stressors that can halt laying, and the University of Florida reports that lice alone may cut production by up to 10%, or 20% in heavy infestations (see mites and lice). Rule these out before deciding a hen is simply "too old."

Breed differences

Breed sets the ceiling. Oregon State gives the average commercial Single Comb White Leghorn at about 265 eggs per year and notes that backyard breeds generally lay fewer — "the more exotic the breed, the poorer its egg production." Purina says Silkies and bantams may lay closer to 50 eggs a year, against up to 250 for high-producing backyard hens. A Purdue Extension breed sheet credits the Rhode Island Red with "up to 300+ brown eggs/year," while ornamental game breeds such as the Old English Game are reported at around forty small eggs a year. Broodiness matters too: Oregon State notes that Cochins and Silkies go broody often, while Leghorns rarely do, and a broody hen stops laying while she sits. For reported egg counts, shell color and temperament of sixteen common breeds side by side, see the backyard breed directory.

How long hens live

Hens usually outlive their productive laying years. Purina gives an average life expectancy of 8 to 10 years for backyard chickens. That means a hen may spend half her life laying few or no eggs, which is the practical question every backyard keeper eventually faces.

What happens to hens that have gotten too old to lay

In commercial production, the answer is economic. As The Conversation's article on cage-free eggs explains, egg producers will not pay to keep feeding hens once laying declines; houses are "depopulated" and the birds are killed. Spent hens that do enter the food supply are sold as what USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service calls a stewing or baking hen — a mature laying hen of about 10 months to 1½ years, whose meat is less tender and best suited to moist cooking.

Backyard keepers have more choice. The common options are:

• Keep her as a pet. An older hen still eats, forages and lays occasionally. Budget roughly a quarter pound of complete feed per hen per day (Purina's figure) for years with few eggs in return. Our feeding guide compares extension figures on feed, calcium and water.
• Plan the flock in age groups. Adding a few pullets every year or two keeps egg supply steady while older hens slow down. Arizona Extension recommends raising new pullets separately and introducing them once they are laying. To see how a mix of ages adds up, try the egg production calculator.
• Process for the table. An older hen is a stewing hen in USDA terms. Check your local ordinances before processing birds at home.
• Rehome. Be honest with the new owner about her age and laying rate.

Whatever you choose, decide before you buy chicks. A flock planned for eggs alone will be paying for retirees within three or four years.