THL
Ever wondered how long a hen lays eggs for? We explain, and expose the truth about what happens when egg production slows down.
Bread, milk, and eggs are traditionally considered staples in kitchens throughout the UK. But, what if we told you that the egg industry is driving the suffering of millions of animals?
Not only are many hens across the UK still kept captive in cages, but egg producers work hard to increase how many eggs they lay, to the detriment of the birds. Egg laying hens suffer from painful conditions including prolapsed cloacas, missing feathers, and broken bones, all before being sent to slaughter when their productivity slows down.
When do hens begin laying eggs?
Hens begin laying eggs by the time they’re six months old. On a commercial farm, they’ll typically lay eggs for at least a year, up to two, before being slaughtered and often sold as pet food.
How often do chickens lay eggs?
Hens on factory farms lay, on average, around 300 eggs a year. While, in the wild, egg laying would naturally drop or stop altogether during the darker winter months, on farms artificial light is used to manipulate hens into laying all year round.
Do chickens lay eggs every day?
It takes 24 to 26 hours for chickens to create one egg, so during peak production they are able to lay an egg almost every day.
Can a chicken lay two eggs a day?
Laying two eggs in one day (similar to having twins) is rare, but can happen occasionally.
How are eggs made?
Producing an egg is not a simple task, as they have many complicated components, even before fertilisation.
Yolk release
The first part of egg creation happens when the ovary releases the yolk. It’s here that fertilisation would take place. However, eggs sold for consumption aren’t fertilised.
Egg white is created
Once the yolk passes into the oviduct, the egg white is added over a roughly three hour period. The white protects the yolk from rupturing while also acting as a nutrient source for the foetus in the case of fertilised eggs.
Egg shape is formed
In the next stage, a thin membrane develops around the white. It’s this membrane that gives the egg its distinct oval shape.
Eggshell is formed
The most time-consuming part of egg creation is the production of the shell. This process takes over 20 hours to complete, and requires a considerable amount of calcium. As the shell comes together, pigment may be added resulting in the blue or green hues characteristic of some eggs.
Bloom added and egg emerges
Before the egg is laid, a protective layer called the bloom is added to the outside of the shell. In the UK, eggs aren’t washed prior to sale in order to keep the bloom intact. In the United States, eggs are required to be washed prior to sale, so then require refrigeration to prevent spoiling.
What factors affect how long chickens lay eggs?
Egg producers routinely manipulate hens’ environment, as well as their biology, all to make the animals to produce as many eggs as possible and increase profit. But a variety of factors can play into how long a chicken can lay eggs.
Breed
Layer hens have been specially bred to maximise the number of eggs they lay. Thanks to generations of breeding with the goal of high egg production, it’s no surprise that the genetic diversity of layer hens is surprisingly low.
Age
Though hens can lay eggs for a decade, they lay the most when they are young. Because of this, birds on factory farms are killed at around two years, when their productivity begins to wane.
Light
Chickens lay more eggs during the summer months when days are longer. During the colder, shorter winter days, production naturally decreases. In a natural environment, this means that chicks are born during the spring and summer, when they’ll have several months to grow into adulthood before having to face the winter. On many farms though, lights is used in barns in order to keep production high year-round.
Nutrition
In an attempt to combat skeletal fragility related to the high rate of egg laying, mother hens are fed diets rich in calcium. Oftentimes however, this is not enough to prevent bone breaks in hens.
Stress
Stress leads to lower productivity. For example, stress at the hatchery has impacts on chickens that can last a lifetime, including lower weight, more feather pecking, and fewer, smaller eggs.
Despite this, commercial egg farms fail to provide a calm environment for mother hens. Instead, these environments are often overcrowded and noisy.
Health
Chickens with prolapsed cloacas - a condition in which part of the oviduct that eggs pass through remains outside the body - are common on egg farms. The condition can be caused by a number of different factors including underweight or overweight birds, insufficient calcium causing shell abnormalities, or laying especially large or numerous eggs.
To make matters worse, once a prolapse occurs, other chickens may start cannibalising the affected bird, causing more pain and bleeding.
Moulting
Moulting, or the shedding of feathers, is a natural process for hens that normally takes place in the winter when food is harder to find. At that time, their feed intake decreases and they largely stop laying eggs.
On egg farms, producers will withhold food to cause the birds to start moulting as when hens are done moulting their egg production spikes. Typically, farmers force birds to moult after about a year of laying in order to extend their productivity.
Housing
All that egg laying takes a heavy toll on the birds’ bodies. Research into Danish egg farms found that up to 100% of hens living in cage-free systems, and up to 98% of those living in enriched cages, suffer from painful keel bone fractures. Oftentimes, the research also notes, individual birds suffered from multiple fractures. Part of this problem is due to the amount of calcium required to make the eggs, which is diverted from hens’ bones leading to fragile bones.
At what age do chickens stop laying eggs?
Chickens can lay eggs until they are ten or more years old, but lay the most eggs within the first two years of life. That’s why on factory farms, flocks are sent to slaughter around two years old, when their productivity drops and they’re not yielding as much profit.
The bottom line
As with all factory farms, the priority for egg farms is profit, not the welfare of animals. As long as people are eating eggs, the welfare of egg-laying hens needs to be protected.
That’s why we’re fighting to get hens out of cages. We believe no animal should be confined to a cage. Join us if you do, too.
