Do hens really have certain number of eggs they will lay in a lifetime?

[Nenad]

I was reading on here about cons of adding light during winter days(I won't do it, I am just learning about chickens) and someone said that light doesn't help to produce more eggs but instead it just gets them 'empty' of eggs faster because hens have certain number of eggs during their lifetime that they can lay and they can't lay more than that. So by avoiding it you should get eggs for longer period of time during the time they live. Is this true? Thanks!

 

[springvalley123]

I saw that too, I think it was in the literature for the Czech hybrids--Dominant Blue, Dominant barred, etc. Sold by various hatcheries in the US as Sapphire Gem, Calico Princess, and other names for the same breeding projects based on which hatchery.

It makes sense, if you recall your biology class in school, generally, female animals are born/hatched with all the eggs they will ever have in their lifetime.

Any biologists know for sure if this applies to birds as well as mammals?

 

[raingarden]

Old retired hens that have stopped laying for all practical purposes and put out to pasture will still lay an egg now and then. It is as if they still have embryos left but the rest of the egg laying apparatus is worn out.

 

[nuthatched]

All female things have as many eggs as they're going to have at the beginning, but very rarely do they get 'used up'

 

[Mrs. K]

Take it with a grain of salt. Yes they have all the eggs - so do humans.

By not encouraging laying with lights, you do not save eggs so that they lay longer over the years. If you use lights, you get eggs at this time. But there is very little possibility you will use up all the eggs, even with a perfect care and life. As the body wears with age, or stress, egg laying naturally decrease with or without light. Which is why people sell spent hens.

Mostly - if you use lights, you will get more eggs per year. However, even with lights, chickens lay less eggs the older they get. Spent hens often times will lay eggs, but not feed efficiently as younger birds do.

How many years the bird lives will determine egg laying amounts in the end. Some people think that if they lay more eggs, they wear out faster and die sooner, but I think while there might be a slight effect on that, but there are a lot of variables to account for. Genetics, feed, climate, breed, predators, disease, parasites and just luck.

I don't use lights - I don't have electricity to the coop. I don't think it is a one way is better than the other.

Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

So by avoiding it you should get eggs for longer period of time during the time they live. Is this true? Thanks!

Like many other things you read on here there is a grain of truth in it. Not only is every pullet hatched with all the ova she will ever have, only one of her ovaries develops. I would not delay egg production with the expectation of getting more eggs later in her life.

Not every ova is going to become a yolk for an egg. Some hens don't lay enough per week to ever use up their ova. Hens can die from predators, disease, or injury well before they are finished with their laying life. Over time some ova can break down and lose their ability to develop into a yolk. For various reasons having nothing to do with the ova a hen reduces the number of eggs she lays weekly as she gets older. To me there are so many different things that can stop a hen from laying long before she has ever used up all her ova to even consider delaying production in the hope of getting those late eggs.

 

[SmiYa0126]

I'm not really sure how true this is, my aunt's hens are eight years old, still laying strong.