Short answer: A brown layer starts laying at 18 to 19 weeks, peaks at around 90 per cent of hens laying on a given day, and gives roughly 320 to 335 eggs by 80 weeks on good management. Heat, poor water, disrupted feed and disease pull that figure down, so count your own eggs every morning and plan from your own curve rather than the breeder's peak.
Key takeaways
- Plan from the hen-housed figure to 80 weeks, never from the peak alone.
- The first eggs are few and small, and the peak lasts only about 11 weeks on a typical curve.
- Count eggs every morning for at least three days before you trust any lay rate.
- Heat, water shortages, sudden feed changes and disease cut lay before the birds look ill.
- One hen at 82 per cent lays a crate of 30 in about five weeks, and that is the number to sell against.
The short answer, and why it is not the whole answer
Every few weeks a new layer farmer asks us some version of the same question: how many eggs will my hens give me? The honest answer depends on the breed, the age of the flock and what happens in the house on a bad day. A hen does not lay one egg a day for ever, and she does not start at full speed either.
For a brown commercial layer on good management, the figure most people use is the hen-housed number. That is the total eggs per hen, counted from her first egg to a set age, usually 80 weeks. For the Hy-Line Brown, breeder targets sit in the region of 320 to 335 eggs by 80 weeks. Our Hy-Line Brown guide shows how that figure is built up. This article uses the same logic for any layer you plan to keep.
The laying curve: a hen is not a constant
A layer flock moves through several stages, and each stage has its own rate. The rate is the share of hens laying on a given day. At 90 per cent, a flock of 100 gives 90 eggs on an ordinary day.
The first eggs usually arrive between 18 and 19 weeks. They are few, often small, and they come with no rhythm at all. The flock climbs for a few weeks, reaches its peak somewhere between 25 and 30 weeks, and then eases down slowly. In a well-run flock the decline is gentle. In a stressed one it is a slope that steepens every month. Our guide to when layers start laying covers the run-up to those first eggs.
Peak is the figure everyone quotes, and it is the one that catches new farmers out. A flock at 92 per cent is a very good flock, but it does not hold that number for a year. If you budget on the peak, you will feel the shortfall in the second half of the cycle, when the feed bill has not changed but the crates have shrunk.
Planning curve for a brown layer, stage by stage
The table below uses rounded planning rates for a brown layer kept to 80 weeks. Treat it as a way of thinking, not a promise. Replace the rates with the figures from your own strain's guide, and then with your own records, as soon as you have them.
| Age (weeks) | Stage | Average lay rate | Weeks | Eggs per hen in the stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 to 19 | First eggs | 20% | 2 | 3 |
| 20 to 24 | Climb | 65% | 5 | 23 |
| 25 to 35 | Peak | 88% | 11 | 68 |
| 36 to 52 | Mid-lay | 82% | 17 | 98 |
| 53 to 65 | Late lay | 76% | 13 | 69 |
| 66 to 80 | Final stretch | 66% | 15 | 69 |
| Total | 63 | 330 |
Read the last column as the story. The peak stage is only 11 weeks long, yet it still produces about a fifth of the eggs. The mid-lay stage, from 36 to 52 weeks, does the most work of any stage because it lasts longer. A flock that holds its mid-lay rate is worth far more than one that peaks well and then falls off a cliff.
The rates in the table are averages across each stage. The top week of peak will be higher than 88 per cent, and the last week before cull will be lower than 66. Averages are what your cash flow runs on, so plan with them.
Breed by breed: what the figures look like
Breed figures come in different forms, and you need to compare like with like. Hen-housed figures to 80 weeks are the fairest comparison for layers. Some dual-purpose birds are quoted per year instead, and a per-year figure is not directly comparable with a hen-housed one.
| Breed | Egg colour | Figure commonly quoted | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hy-Line Brown | Brown | 320 to 335 eggs to 80 weeks | A long, steady cycle from a specialist layer |
| Bovans Brown | Brown | Check the strain guide | Plan from the breeder's own targets |
| Lohmann Brown | Brown | Check the strain guide | Judge it on late-lay figures, since it holds output well after peak |
| Hy-Line White | White | Check the strain guide | A lighter bird for buyers who ask for white |
| Plymouth Rock | Brown | Around 200 eggs a year | Dual purpose and calm, so meat counts too |
| Kuroiler | Ask us | Around 150 to 180 eggs a year | Dual purpose, so eggs and meat both count |
We do not print a number for every line here on purpose. Lay figures depend on the strain, the feed programme and the house, and a rounded figure from a blog is a poor substitute for the breeder's own targets. Ask for the strain guide when you order, and compare the hen-housed figure in that guide against the others you are considering. Our layer day-old chicks page lists the lines we can supply.
Work out your own lay rate in three days
The breeder's chart tells you what the birds can do. Your daily count tells you what they are doing. The lay rate is simple to calculate: eggs collected in a day, divided by the number of hens in the house, times 100. Count for at least three days in a row before you believe a number, because one good day or one bad day tells you very little.
Here is a worked example for a flock of 300 hens in the climb to peak.
| Day | Eggs collected | Hens in the house | Lay rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 248 | 300 | 83% |
| Tuesday | 255 | 300 | 85% |
| Wednesday | 231 | 300 | 77% |
| Three-day average | 245 | 300 | 82% |
An 82 per cent flock in the climb is on track. The same flock at peak should be near 90 per cent. Compare this week's average with last week's, not with the breeder's peak on someone else's farm. The trend in your own numbers is the thing to act on. If it is falling, our egg production guide sets out the levers that lift it back.
Why your flock lays less than the chart
When a flock drops below its own curve, the cause is almost always one of a short list. Heat comes first in Ghana. A hen in a hot house eats less, drinks more and spends energy keeping cool, and lay falls within a day or two. The harmattan adds its own problem. Fine dust gets into the house and irritates the airways, and a hen with a mild cough lays less than a healthy one.
Water is the next cause we see. A drinker that runs dry for an hour in the afternoon can cost eggs for a week. Feed changes come after that. Switching brands or changing the mix abruptly upsets appetite and the calcium balance, and the shells show it first. Our layer feeding guide explains how to change a ration without a dip. Light is the fourth. A sudden change in day length, or a power cut that leaves the house dark for part of the morning, can stop lay for several days (see our lighting programme guide).
Disease is the one nobody wants to name. Respiratory infections, Newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis can all pull lay down before the birds look ill. A flock that falls off its curve and stays down for more than a few days needs your vet, not another bag of feed. Our Newcastle disease guide explains what to look for in the house.
When the rate drops, check these in order:
- Water: are the drinkers full, clean and within reach at midday?
- Heat: what is the house temperature at 2 pm, and is the air moving?
- Feed: did the amount in the trough change, and did the brand or mix change?
- Light: has the day length or the power supply changed in the last two weeks?
- Birds: are there coughs, watery eyes, swollen heads or droppings that look wrong?
- Eggs: are the shells soft, thin or missing, and where are the eggs being laid?
Ghana's seasons and the lay curve
Ghana does not give a layer flock a neat winter. In the Central Region the rains come in two seasons, and the wet months bring damp litter, higher humidity and more flies. Damp litter raises ammonia, and ammonia irritates the airways just as harmattan dust does. In the dry months the heat is the main limit. Layers do best when the house stays cool at midday, and the early afternoon is where most flocks lose ground.
Day length is not the big factor it is in temperate countries, because days near the equator change very little over the year. You do not need to chase natural daylight. You need a steady programme, which is why we talk about lighting in our guide rather than about seasons.
Plan the lay curve around the weather you expect. A flock that starts laying in the middle of the rains reaches peak in a different part of the year from one that starts in the dry season. Keep your count records so you can see the dips, and write the weather beside each dip. After one cycle you will know which months to protect.
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Turning the rate into crates, feed and orders
Once you know the rate, the arithmetic becomes useful for selling and feeding. Three numbers do most of the work.
- Eggs per hen per day is the lay rate. At 82 per cent, one hen gives 0.82 eggs a day.
- Days per crate is 30 divided by the rate. At 82 per cent, one hen takes about 37 days to fill a crate of 30 eggs, which is roughly five weeks.
- Feed per crate is days per crate multiplied by daily intake. At 110 grams a day, that is about 4 kilograms of feed for every crate.
Apply that to a flock of 300 hens at 82 per cent and you get about 246 eggs a day. That is around eight crates a day, or 57 crates a week. A buyer who wants 20 crates a week needs you to size the flock to meet it, and you should not promise a weekly volume you have not counted for at least three weeks.
The same arithmetic runs the business plan. If you want to see how crates, feed and price combine into a monthly profit, our egg business profit worked example takes the numbers from here to the bottom line.
Mistakes that make forecasts fail
Most bad forecasts come from a short list of errors, and we see the same ones again and again.
- Planning on the peak for the whole year. Peak lasts a few weeks, and the average over the cycle is lower.
- Counting hens at the start and never again. Mortality is quiet. Ten dead hens in a month is a loss of about 3 per cent that nobody budgeted for.
- Expecting the first eggs to grade as well as mature eggs. Early eggs are small and irregular, and buyers notice.
- Mixing per-year and hen-housed figures when comparing breeds. They measure different things.
- Ignoring the slope. A flock that drops by one point a month is on a different path from one that holds, and the difference shows up in the cash by month nine.
The fix for all five is the same: a daily count, a weekly average and a monthly comparison with the plan. Nothing else gives you a forecast you can trust.
When to keep the flock and when to replace it
Most commercial layer flocks are kept for something like a year to 18 months of lay, but the decision to replace is a money decision, not a calendar one. Look at the eggs you sell, the feed you use per crate and the price your buyers pay. When a flock's eggs no longer cover feed, labour and crate costs, the flock has to go, whatever the date says.
Plan the replacement batch before that point, so the new birds are coming into lay as the old ones leave. Our point-of-lay pullets guide covers the choice between rearing your own and buying birds already close to lay.
If you want a second opinion on your own numbers, send us your daily counts on WhatsApp at +233 24 915 1503. We can look at the curve with you and tell you whether the drop is in line with your breed or whether something in the house needs fixing. When you are ready to order, use the order form on the site.
Questions farmers ask
How many eggs does a hen lay in a year?
In her first twelve months of lay, a good commercial brown layer gives around 280 eggs on our planning curve, counted from her first egg. That is an average over the year, not a figure to expect in every month. Expect a climb, a peak around 25 to 35 weeks of age, and a slow fall. Your own count, kept for at least three weeks at a time, will show where your flock sits on that curve.
Does a hen lay an egg every day?
No. At peak, a healthy commercial hen lays on most days but not every day. A lay rate of 90 per cent means nine days in ten, averaged across the flock. Single hens vary far more than the flock does, so judge the house by the daily count and not by what one bird did yesterday.
Why did my hens stop laying in the rainy season?
Usually the rains bring damp litter, higher ammonia, more flies and sometimes a drop in feed intake when the birds stay indoors. Check the house first: dry litter, good airflow and drinkers that stay clean. Then check the feed for mould and look at the birds for coughs or watery eyes. If the drop goes on for more than a week, call your vet, because some infections reduce lay before they cause any other sign.
Are brown layers more productive than white layers?
Not in a way that settles the choice. Specialist brown lines are widely used, and their breeder figures are well documented. White-egg lines are lighter birds that eat less. Judge both on hen-housed eggs to 80 weeks, feed used per crate and the price your buyers will pay. A line that lays a few more eggs but eats far more feed can lose you money.
How many hens do I need to fill a crate each day?
A crate holds 30 eggs. At 85 per cent lay, you need about 35 hens to produce one crate a day. For eight crates a day, plan on roughly 280 hens at that rate. Count your own rate before you size the flock, because the same 280 hens at 75 per cent give only about seven crates.
What lay rate should I put in my business plan?
Plan with a figure you can defend from your own records. Until you have them, use a number below the peak. A cautious plan uses the average over the lay year, not the top of the curve. Start with the stage table in this article, then replace its figures with your own counts after the first month. If your plan only works at peak, change the plan.
When should I replace my hens?
Replace them when the eggs you sell no longer cover feed, labour and crate costs, not on a fixed calendar. For many commercial flocks that point falls somewhere around 12 to 18 months of lay, but it depends on your feed price, your lay rate and your buyers. Plan the replacement batch in advance so the new birds are in lay as the old flock leaves.
