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Depending on breed, egg production starts at 24–26 weeks of age. Production percentage (daily eggs per hen) climbs rapidly to a peak of 80–85% at 29–32 weeks, and then gradually declines with age. Hatchability tends to peak (at perhaps 90%) somewhat later than production at 34–36 weeks. [20]
Older hens gradually produce fewer eggs, and the eggs are usually larger. [1] Since the average lifespan of a pet layer hen is 8–15 years, [2] henopause has received attention as a potential problem for backyard or urban chicken farmers who are eventually faced with the decision to either slaughter older layers or keep them as non-producing pets.
In 1900, average egg production was 83 eggs per hen per year. In 2000, it was well over 300. In the United States, laying hens are butchered after their second egg laying season. In Europe, they are generally butchered after a single season. The laying period begins when the hen is about 18–20 weeks old (depending on breed and season).
A free range pastured chicken system. Pastured poultry also known as pasture-raised poultry or pasture raised eggs is a sustainable agriculture technique that calls for the raising of laying chickens, meat chickens (broilers), guinea fowl, and/or turkeys on pasture, as opposed to indoor confinement like in battery cage hens or in some cage-free and 'free range' setups with limited "access ...
[2] [3] Chickens raised for eggs are known as layers, while chickens raised for meat are called broilers. [4] In the United States, the national organization overseeing poultry production is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In the UK, the national organisation is the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Chickens in multiple-occupancy battery cages. Battery cages are a housing system used by factory farms for various animal production methods, but primarily for egg-laying hens. The name arises from the arrangement of rows and columns of identical cages connected, in a unit, as in an artillery battery. Although the term is usually applied to ...
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In 1900, average egg production was 83 eggs per hen per year. In 2000, it was well over 300. In the United States, laying hens are butchered after their second egg laying season. In Europe, they are generally butchered after a single season. The laying period begins when the hen is about 18–20 weeks old (depending on breed and season).