A hen normally lays only one egg a day.
When a hen reaches 18 to 20 weeks of age, she begins to lay eggs. Under ideal conditions, it will normally produce about one per day, but may occasionally release two in the same 24-hour period. In a natural setting, the bird will continue to lay until it has several in the nest, at which point it will perch on them until they hatch. On a farm, however, the eggs are removed and she will continue to lay. During the course of her life, a hen can produce up to thirty times her body weight in eggs; at one a day, for almost two and a half years, that’s about 900.
The Reproductive Cycle
Brown and white chicken eggs.
The reproductive cycle is determined by the length of the day and usually lasts about twenty-four hours during the summer months. As the days get shorter and winter approaches, the hen lays fewer eggs, skipping some days. Some will stop laying completely until spring arrives. The reason behind this is that winter is a bad time to breed puppies as the cold reduces their chances of survival.
A chick and an egg.
A hen does not need to be fertilized to lay an egg, and most birds in a laying facility have never been in contact with a rooster. The egg-laying duct, or oviduct, empties into the cloaca, the duct through which feces and urine are expelled; however, during laying, a point of skin is extended downward to separate these areas so that the eggs are not contaminated by feces. The newly laid egg is therefore clean, although it can later get dirty, for example on the hen’s feet.
After laying, the hen leaves the nest, leaving the egg to cool. This prevents hatching, but the embryo remains viable for up to two weeks under these conditions. The bird will continue to lay every day until it has several eggs in its nest, at which point it becomes “hatched”. A brooding hen stays in the nest all day and night, with her wings slightly spread to help keep her eggs warm. Since the growth of the embryos was stopped while the nest was being laid, they will develop at the same time.
A brooding hen leaves the nest, briefly, once a day to defecate, eat, and drink, and anyone who gets too close to her eggs will be pecked. After three weeks of hatching, your chicks will emerge. Any that don’t hatch will be left behind when she first brings the new chicks into the world, and the nest will be abandoned.
Maximize production
On farms or egg production facilities, this natural process is disrupted. The lighting can be adjusted so that the hen thinks that the length of the day has not changed, so production continues at the summer rate throughout the year. The eggs are removed after laying, leading the bird to think that there are not enough eggs in its nest yet and causing it to continue laying. A hen that is reluctant to lay eggs in a nest can be encouraged to do so by placing some fake eggs there.
After several months of laying, a hen may go through a molting cycle, during which old feathers are shed and new ones grow. Due to the energy required for molting, the hen’s body will not have the resources to produce eggs. However, after moulting, production tends to reach a new peak. When birds in a modern facility have been laying for some time, production is reduced and egg quality declines, and because of this, many facilities use various methods to induce molt in order to improve production and quality afterward. of the seedling. A controversial method is to stop feeding for 7 to 14 days; however, this is not allowed in some countries, and an alternative method is to switch to lower density foods.
Factors Affecting Posture
Hens normally continue to lay until they are two or three years old, but there are a number of reasons, in addition to lighting, shedding and age, that can reduce or stop egg production. One of them is poor nutrition. If a hen does not receive the proper amount of feed, or if there is an imbalance, for example too much or too little salt, she will not be able to produce eggs. The bird must receive adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals such as sodium and calcium.
If food is not stored properly, molds can grow on it. These can release toxins that affect the health of the hens and can prevent laying. Birds raised in backyards can also eat items that are not part of their diet and can be harmful, such as the seeds of toxic plants. External parasites, such as fleas, lice, and mites, and external parasites, such as roundworms and tapeworms, can affect laying. A drop in egg production can also be caused by various diseases and by stress.