Whenever people hear that my family keeps chickens at our home, they always ask me a bunch of questions (which I love!).
Most of these I expect, but some are questions I’d never expect. And that’s OK because these are great questions.
Here’s one: How many eggs are in a chicken at one time?
Chickens don’t have multiple eggs inside them; they take 24-26 hours to develop and lay one egg at a time. In winter and during a molt, they don’t lay as many eggs at all, but they don’t store or develop multiple eggs at all.
If this surprises you, I think I know why, so let’s talk about it in the rest of this article.
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How Many Eggs Does A Chicken Have Inside Them?
Chickens only have one egg in them at a time, and the reason most people get confused if based on two mentalities:
- Mammals have all the eggs they’re going to lay already inside them.
- Many birds lay multiple eggs at a time.
Let’s take these separately and discuss them.
Mammals Vs. Chickens
If you think about eggs from a mammalian perspective, it’s easy to get confused.
But here’s a surprise for you: Chickens are birds, not mammals!
I know that’s not too surprising; I’m joking.
But we need to shift the mindset from how animals like dogs and cats work to how birds and other fowl do.
Female mammals* keep all the eggs they’ll ever have inside them from birth. They don’t make more.
*Not every mammal follows this rule; some do make more eggs, but the majority have all they have from birth.
So with this mentality, it makes sense to ask the question about chickens and how many eggs they have inside them.
It doesn’t work the same for birds. They produce eggs from scratch every time they lay their eggs.
For more questions spawning from the difference between mammals and birds, check out our answer to if chickens breastfeed.
Chickens Vs. Other Birds
If you look at other birds, some lay more than one egg at a time too. This is because they lay eggs a lot less often.
Fewer layings need more eggs to keep their species going.
Chickens are different even from other birds. They often lay almost daily, so they don’t need to hold onto multiple eggs.
They make one egg at a time and lay it before making the next one.
It’s dangerous for them to hold onto eggs and make more than one.
This is called being egg-bound, and if this happens, take your pet to the vet right away.
Learn more at our article on if egg-bound chickens can poop.
How Long Does It Take A Chicken To Lay An Egg?
It takes a chicken 24-26 hours on average to develop an egg and lay it.
In the summer months, chickens become more active, and it’s possible for them to lay eggs in a shorter time frame, sometimes resulting in two separate egg lays in a single day.
This is rare, though.
What’s fascinating about chickens is how they instinctively alter this time frame to match their environment.
If they’re stressed, or their habitat isn’t right, they’ll slow down or even stop their eggs.
Most other animals, even birds, can’t stop this process on a dime as chickens can.
Egg production requires a lot of protein, so to help the process, make sure they have a healthy and balanced diet including a lot of protein.
Some owners feed table scraps with meat to their chickens to keep them lying well.
How Many Eggs Does A Hen Lay Per Year?
Hens can lay around one egg per day, but the truth is a bit more complex than this.
During a molt, they stop laying altogether for a while.
During the winter months, they slow down.
On average, a hen will lay 200 eggs per year.
We can help raise this number by providing a safe and calm home for them and giving them a high protein diet.
The species will also have a big impact on how many eggs they lay. Check out this table, giving you an idea of the average production power of a chicken species.
| Chicken Breed | Average Per Year* | Average Per Week |
|---|---|---|
| Ameraucana | 150-200 | 3-4 |
| Orpington | 150-200 | 3-4 |
| New Hampshire | 200-240 | 4-5 |
| Leghorn | 200-250 | 4-5 |
| Rhode Island Red | 200-250 | 4-5 |
| Sussex | 200-250 | 4-5 |
| Wyandotte | 200-250 | 4-5 |
| Delaware | 200-280 | 4-6 |
| Plymouth Rock | 200-280 | 4-6 |
| Dominique | 230-270 | 4-6 |
| Australorp | 250-300 | 5-6 |
| Golden Comet | 250-300 | 5-6 |