Chicken eggs are an indispensable product in the diet. They contain proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, enzymes, and a small amount of carbohydrates. The medical norm for egg consumption per year per person is 260 eggs. Prices for store-bought eggs are constantly rising, and many summer residents would like to set up chicken coops on their plots, but do not know when chickens begin to lay eggs in order to purchase chickens of the right age and calculate feed needs.
When and what determines the timing of the beginning of the egg-laying period
The onset of egg production in young chickens at home is associated with internal and external factors. The first include the genetic characteristics of the bird’s body, associated with breed and heredity. External factors:
- conditions of detention;
- feeding rations;
- the season in which the chicks were born.
At an optimal temperature of keeping - from 16 to 25 degrees, air humidity in the chicken coop not higher than 70 percent and illumination of at least 13 hours a day, egg production occurs when the body weight reaches about 75 percent of the adult weight.
Low air temperature, lighting, insufficient physical activity of poultry and an unbalanced diet delay the onset of sexual maturity in chickens. In this regard, chickens born in March enter the egg-laying period 1-2 weeks earlier than those born in late summer, autumn and winter. During the first weeks of egg production, eggs may be small, but as the bird's body weight increases, egg sizes increase to average values for the breed or cross.
Laying hens
Laying hens are egg-laying hens. They begin to lay eggs earlier than other breeds, at the age of 17 to 22 weeks. Starting egg laying too early leads to the development of defects in the musculoskeletal system of chickens and rapid depletion of the body. Chickens of egg breeds show the highest need for movement. When keeping them, there should be a paddock adjacent to the barn, protected by a net from predators. The annual egg production is 240-340 eggs.
Meat and egg breeds
These breeds of domestic chickens begin to produce eggs later than egg-bearing breeds, at approximately 24-28 weeks. They can produce 170-200 eggs per year.The ideal option for summer maintenance at the dacha is to receive egg products during the summer, and prepare excellent chicken carcasses for the winter, storing them in the freezer.
Meat breeds
Egg production of meat chickens begins at approximately 30 weeks of age. The total annual productivity is at the level of 120-170 pieces. The eggs of such birds are the largest, weighing more than 60 grams. Individuals actively gain weight and therefore quickly move on to molting, during which egg production stops.
To find out what age of chickens you should buy on the market, you need to subtract 3-4 weeks from the approximate date of entry of the selected breed of chicken into the egg-laying period, which should be used to acclimatize the birds to new conditions.
How long do chickens lay eggs?
The physiological duration of the egg production period in chickens is 12-15 years. Each chicken contains approximately 2-4 thousand eggs. However, keeping laying hens for so long becomes economically unfeasible, since their productivity is annually reduced by 15-20 percent after 1-1.5 years. Meat of chickens of all breeds older than 3-4 years acquires a coarse fibrous structure.
At home, laying hens are kept for 1-2 years, meat and egg hens for 3-4 years, then replaced with young animals. There are cases when some chicken is very fond of the owners, then the bird becomes a real pet.
In summer cottages it is easier to keep chickens for one warm season without setting up a heated barn.
Possible reasons for the cessation of egg production
In addition to the natural decline in productivity and molting periods, a bird may stop laying eggs as a result of stress. Young chickens are highly sensitive to the following types of stress:
- temperature jumps;
- change of diet;
- lack of lighting;
- the appearance of rats or predators.
Let's look at the balanced feed compositions in percentages recommended for egg breeds.
From 9 to 21 weeks of age:
- crushed wheat – 48;
- crushed barley – 30;
- sunflower meal – 2;
- feed yeast – 3;
- wheat bran – 5;
- herbal flour – 6;
- meat and bone meal – 2;
- bone meal – 1.4;
- chalk – 1.2%;
- table salt – 0.4.
From 22 to 47 weeks:
- crushed corn – 35.3;
- crushed wheat – 30;
- sunflower meal – 13;
- feed yeast – 3;
- fishmeal – 5;
- herbal flour – 4;
- bone meal – 0.6;
- chalk – 3;
- shells, limestone – 4.7;
- table salt – 0.4.
At 48 weeks and older:
- crushed corn – 40;
- crushed wheat – 20;
- crushed barley – 7.5;
- sunflower meal – 11.7;
- feed yeast – 3;
- herbal flour – 4;
- fishmeal – 4;
- bone meal – 0.8;
- chalk – 3;
- limestone – 4.6;
- table salt – 0.4.
In addition to grain feed, mash is prepared for poultry based on potatoes, milk, cottage cheese, to which ingredients in the form of flour and table salt are added. The daily diet should contain vitamin and mineral premixes and a sufficient amount of water.
In addition to stress, the reason for the lack of egg production can be diseases of chickens. Signs of disease in poultry:
- lethargy, drowsiness, decreased mobility, drooping wings, refusal of food and water;
- pale comb;
- the bird wheezes and coughs;
- yellow-green or bloody diarrhea;
- weight loss;
- the bird constantly scratches itself with its beak;
- loss of feathers without molting, holey feathers.
Important! If you notice any of the above signs of bird disease, contact your veterinarian immediately!
The most egg-laying bird species
Crosses are generally more productive than breeds. In terms of the annual number of eggs laid, pullets of brown egg hens take precedence:
- Novogenbraun - 351 pieces with an average weight of 61.5 grams;
- Hisex – 346 – 61.7;
- Loman – 339 – 62.5;
- Iza brown – 342 – 61.6;
- High line – 337 – 61.9;
- Super Nick – 330 – 62.3;
- Tetra – 330 – 62.1;
- Bovans – 327 – 62.7.
Chickens with white coloring are inferior to the above crosses:
- Leghorn - 200-240 pieces per year with an egg weight of 56-62 grams;
- Zarya-17 – 256-268 – 60-62;
- Start – 248-282 – 58.8;
- Belarus 9 – 246-260 – 58-60;
- Russian white – 175-190 – 57-60;
- Orlovskaya – 150-160 – 55-58.
Productivity of meat and egg chickens:
- Rhode Island - 170-180 pieces per year with an average egg weight of 56-58 grams;
- New Hampshire – 170-190 – 58-59;
- Plymouthrock – 180-200 – 56-50;
- Moscow - 210-220 - 56-58;
- Australorp – 160-180 – 60-62;
- Orpington – 160-180 – 60-61;
- Sussex – 160-170 – 56-58;
- Pervomayskaya – 150-180 – 58-63;
- Livenskaya – 150-180 – 55-60;
- Yurlovskaya – 100-150 – 65-70.
The influence of the rooster on the process
Eggs are the female reproductive cells of birds; regardless of fertilization, they mature in the bird’s body and begin to move from the ovaries through the oviducts in the form of a yolk. The average maturation time for one egg is 25 hours. The yolk gradually becomes overgrown with a protein shell, film and shell, and in this form comes out.
The bird's oviducts communicate with the cloaca - the place where the rooster's seed falls if the mating process occurs. In this case, the egg will be fertilized. However, mating is not necessary to produce eggs.
Note! To prevent salmonellosis infection, before heat treatment of eggs, the hard shell must be washed in running water at a temperature of 45 degrees!
Since a chicken flock is a kind of bird collective, when keeping chickens, the main role of the rooster is to maintain discipline among all the chickens. One rooster is enough for 10-12 laying hens. If there are several roosters and they are of different ages, then competition for territory arises between them and fights are possible.
We hope that you have received a comprehensive answer to the question of when chickens of various breeds and crosses begin to lay eggs in order to purchase young animals of the right age for your farm or country farm. If proper care is provided and sanitary and hygienic conditions are observed in the chicken coop, the birds will produce eggs in due time.
