How old will chickens on average lay till?

I understand they peak between 1-2 years then decline, production breeds like Leghorns and sex-links dramatically, and heritage breeds more steadily at something like 12% per year, theoretically. I guess pretty quickly the economics do not favor keeping hens too long, unless you can free-range/grow your own food. There are some other threads that report on egg-laying in senior hens, and it sounds highly variable with the individual.

 

i raise leghorns and red sexlinks . i have had leghorns lay at the 3 year mark getting about 3 to 4 eggs a week from the 3 year olds. the sex links start fading out around 2.5 years. i have 9 white leghorn and 9 red sexlinks all this years layers. so i should be good till the next 2.5 to 3 years with egg production i sell about 20 dozen eggs a month on average.

 

I once bought a young EE from a lady who had a bantam salmon faverolle in her flock that was almost 8 years old and still laid 1 to 2 eggs a week. I thought that was pretty impressive. This same lady relayed to me a story of once having a Rhode Island red hen that still laid 3 or 4 eggs a week until she was taken by a hawk at the age of 7, as well. That's pretty old to still be laying that many eggs, but these chickens had about 4 acres out in the boonies that they free-ranged on, so I imagine their diet was pretty optimal.

 

The answer to this is "it depends." It depend on the breed of chicken, the individual chicken, and the health and diet of the flock. For all chickens, the first year, from 6 months until they molt at 18 months of age, is the most productive. On average, the next year sees a decline of 20 %. Then there's another molt when they stop laying. The next springtime, when laying picks up again, you'll see at least another 20 % decline, for some breeds more. At that time, too, no matter what you feed, you'll have thinner-shelled eggs, which is one reason why farmers don't keep old hens - there's too much breakage. You'll also have far more health issues. That said, some old hens stop laying after their third year, some go on until they are 8. Economically, they stop "earning their keep" at the end of their second year, but that doesn't stop many of us from having retired hens around. If you want to see more about the difference between old and young hens, take a look at this blogpost:
http://www.hencam.com/henblog/2011/10/old-hen-young-hen/

 

Quote:Very cool comparisons. This is my first year with chickens, so all I know is young chickens. I loved seeing both sides of the coin.

 

Thank You for the information. I have three 1.5 year old and they finished molting about 3-4 weeks ago.....no eggs in 6 weeks. Previous to the molt - 5 or 6 eggs a week.

 

I had some six year old Orpingtons still laying about three eggs a week. High producing breeds like Leghorns and sex links will "wear out" sooner than the older "dual purpose" style birds, they will lay 300+ eggs a year for a couple of years and then slow way down, while your dual purpose breeds might lay 150-200 eggs a year for a couple of years and gradually slow down.

After they molt, it can take them a while to start again, especially this time of year, because there is not enough daylight to stimulate their reproductive tract to start working again. An increase in daylight length (12-14 hours) either by waiting until the days are naturally longer, or providing artificial light, as well as a boost in protein in their diet ought to get them going again.

 

Wow still laying after 6 years that is great! I have only been raising chickens for three years now and thought they only layed well for two years.