Does a chicken get to old to lay eggs?

Answer 1

Pullet is the term for a young hen from the time she starts to lay eggs to her first seasonal moult. Hens generally start laying eggs at about 18 to 20 weeks of age. Egg production will slow down or stop (depending on the breed of hen) after the first moult which starts as winter approaches. Some breeds will lay eggs for up to ten years but no hen lays as many eggs per year as she does in that first super-productive season. In fact most hens start to eat more than the eggs they lay are worth by their third or fourth year. Kind hearted hobby hen keepers will ignore this disastrous state of affairs but the serious smallholder will not have that luxury. Butchering hens is part and parcel of hen keeping. Hens past their laying prime are the traditional ingredient of peasant style chicken soups.

Answer 2

Hens start laying eggs when they're 4-5 months old. It also depends on the breed because leghorns can start laying eggs at 3-4 months old while others like Rhode Island Reds have to be 6-7 months old before they can produce any.

Answer 3

i would say about 8 years old. well it depends how long a chicken can live.

I'm not a chicken exspert so I'm not sure but I'm pretty sure that's it.

Answer 4

Many breeds of chicken slow production of eggs at about 2 years old but will continue to drop eggs past the third year. Some breeds cease egg production later earlier than two years old but well cared for and well fed birds can offer the occasional egg even past the third year.

Answer 5

If you are talking about the type of egg you eat then once the chicken is about 15-16 weeks old you should start feeding them laying pellets and they should start laying between 18-25 weeks but if they still havent layed at the age of 30 weeks dont worry because one of my chickens layed at about 36 weeks but if the chickens tail is down and they are squeezing alot and walking slow and seem to be sick then they are probably egg bound which means they cant lay and the egg is stuck at this stage you can still save the chicken by putting on some gloves and bathing the chicken in warm water to get the muscles moving and then try putting some sort of dislodger that will reach up the bum and try and dislodge the egg and get it out... if that is successful then the chicken will need some rest for 2-3 days then should be fine to start laying.

Answer 6

I don't know what the life expectancy of a chicken is but I have some that are 5 years old. Hard to believe they are still around with all the animals of prey around. They have been more clever that the others that did get taken home for a chicken dinner by coyotes, foxes, etc. The ones that have managed to escape the family feast are still laying eggs. So I really don't know how old is too old.

Answer 7

Depending on the breed, production usually drops around the 2 year old age. They will lay much longer but it could be as much as a week between eggs until they get so old they do not ever produce another egg.

Answer 8

Most breeds will slow rate of lay at about 24 months old and this will decline until totally ceasing at or before about age 3 years. The occasional egg is sometime laid after this age but they are often malformed. Chickens also stop laying during the molt which lasts about 4 to 6 weeks.

Answer 9

They usually start laying at 6 months and stop at 6 or 7 years. They usually live to be 10 or 11

Answer 10

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