Commercial layers can lay between 240-310 eggs in their lifetime. However, the number of eggs laid depends on several other factors, including the feeding and the general environment in which the chicken are kept. For example, loud noise near the chicken houses can affect the egg laying process. Poor feeding can reduce egg production, just like the temperature in the chicken house and diseases like Newcastle. You can tell that a chicken is laying eggs if its comb is brick red, the feathers are shinny and the vent is wide and can take three fingers spread across it.
Why do some layers eat their eggs?
Layers eat their eggs due to lack of calcium in their bodies. They may eat eggs due to lack of protein in their feeds or when the quality of feeds is poor. Lack of calcium in the layers can also be seen when they lay eggs whose shells are light and weak because calcium is mainly used to help produce the eggs.
How many eggs does a highly productive indigenous chicken lay per year? The number of eggs laid by an indigenous chicken depends on the feed and management practices. Under normal scavenging conditions, with no feeds supplementation, a productive hen would lay 45 eggs in a year. The same bird will lay 120 eggs under semi-intensive conditions with artificial brooding, that is, it is allowed to sit on the eggs, but the chicks are taken away as soon as they hatch; and 180 eggs if the eggs are collected and hatched artificially.
