How many laying hens to supply a family??

[Dray67]

I have 5 hens and get 4-5 eggs a day. We seem to get fewer eggs in the days following a heavy rain. We have 2 teenaged daughters and have enough eggs to use and about an extra dozen to give way each week.

 

[Wifezilla]

5 duck hens keep my family of 3 well supplied with occasional surplus to sell. When oldest son is on leave, no surplus

Now ducks lay bigger eggs than chickens and the breed I have (Welsh Harlequins) lays almost every day. They average 300+ eggs/year. If I had chickens instead of ducks, I would need 7 or 8 hens.

 

[Tiss]

I have 11 hens and get 8-10 eggs/day. Waaay more than my family of 4 can use. The good news is, I have plenty to sell!

 

[Pequena Bandada]

We have four pullets that started laying this summer; they provided 3 eggs a day, sometimes 4. They supplied my family of four just fine, but we never had enough to give to the neighbors, who all beg for eggs. So we got 8 more! Come Spring we'll have:

4 hens from egg laying breeds
2 bantam pullets - I'm not counting on them for many eggs
4 LF pullets from egg laying breeds
1 LF pullet that probably won't be a good egg layer
1 bantam cockerel to be the king

Based on that I think I'll probably get the equivalent of 7-8 full sized eggs a day. That will be enough to keep my family and two neighbors happy.

 

[burntmuch]

Ive got 7 ISA Browns & 2 EEs or barnyard mutts. I get 4 or 5 eggs one day then 8 or 9 the next.. We give a doz a week to our neighbors . I take a doz or so a week to the fire station with me. So with 9 laying hens I supply 3 families. My family is 2 adults & 3 kids. My neighbors are. an older couple. My fire station is 4 bigger guys who likes my omelettes. Never any surplus at my house.
So for the OP to have enough eggs one or two more laying hens should be enough. I would think. Im fairly new at this. But loving it

 

[gordonburrito]

We have 5 laying hens (all decent egg production breeds) with one hen still to lay. They produce 3-5 eggs per day (more good days then bad). Even in the winter most days we get 4 or 5 eggs but are a few days we will get 2-3 which brings the average down slightly. That works out to approximately 2-3 dozen a week. Far more than we need for our small family. Six layers should be plenty for the size of your family in my opinion. Maybe you should buy two high production chickens to round off your egg production.

 

[abhaya]

chicken math = more chickens lol

 

[Aria]

We have 14 Silkies. There are 6 to 10 eggs daily. Supply for my husband and I, my son, and my daughter and we sell all the extra eggs $1.00 a dozen. Just FINE for us.

 

[rolffamily]

I thank you for all your answers. We have 4 GLW pullets 8 months old plus one rooster, and, as I stated earlier, we get 2 eggs per day.. I do add light for 12 hours daily but I would like to know if I'll see an increase in summer, or is this average for a dual purpose bird. I might have to try to add a bird or two in come spring.

 

[DPC poultry]

6 hens