How Many Eggs Should Hens Actually Lay? What’s Happening in Factory Farms vs. Nature

With the current widespread bird flu and rising egg prices, some Americans may be starting to wonder where their eggs actually come from. Aren't hens just popping out a bunch of eggs each day?

If you google questions like "how often do hens lay eggs?" and "how many eggs do chickens lay a day?" the search engine will first feed you answers referring to hens in the egg industry, who have been bred to lay far more eggs than is in their nature.

These answers may lead some readers to believe that farmed hens are naturally producing countless eggs — and that they are happy doing so.

However, those questions have very different answers when you look at how many eggs hens actually lay naturally, and how human interference and breeding has made the egg industry the behemoth that it is today.

Keep reading to learn the reality of hens' egg-laying habits, and how the egg industry has dramatically changed them, all while causing enormous harm to chickens and to the environment.

Hens who are bred to be egg-laying hens lay an egg nearly every day, averaging out to about six eggs per week. This equates to up to 300 eggs per year. This applies to hens on factory farms, in backyard coops, and anywhere in between.

But wild hens, such as the red junglefowl, who have not been bred for the exploitation of their eggs, only naturally lay between 10 and 15 eggs per year, per The Humane League.

The egg has done two key things to make hens so productive.

The first is breeding — several breeds of hens were created specifically to maximize frequency of egg production.

The second is a cunning use of lighting — per the American Poultry Association and Premier 1 Supplies, when hens are around 18 weeks of age, farmers start lighting factory farms for 14 hours a day to simulate springtime. This triggers hens to start producing eggs.

The longer the day, the more eggs get laid; so, farmers continue lengthening the day with the use of artificial light, until the hens are in an eternal springtime, and producing "enough" eggs.

Hens bred into the egg industry will start laying eggs when they are about 18 weeks old, or just over 4 months of age.

Laying eggs is a highly taxing process on the body, which — combined with the tight living quarters in cages — causes most caged hens in factory farms to contract osteoporosis.

And then, after laying eggs nearly daily for about a year, a commercial hen's production typically decreases. When that decline happens, she is slaughtered — typically at around 18 months of age, per Compassion in World Farming.

In nature, hens can lay eggs for around eight years. But in the egg industry, they are only valuable when they are producing eggs consistently, so they are simply killed when their production declines.

The hens bred for their eggs are different than hens bred for their meat. So while in rare instances, hens are used for their meat, they are typically just slaughtered and discarded.

And when male chicks are born into the egg industry (accounting for about 50 percent of births), they are simply killed in the hatchery. So of the at least 600 million chicks born into the egg industry in the U.S. annually, around 300 million are immediately "culled" — something that only a staggering 11 percent of U.S.-based egg customers are aware of, per the ASPCA.

Before learning about the cruelty and high environmental footprint of the egg industry, I used to eat eggs for breakfast daily. Now, I start most mornings with one of several delicious breakfast egg alternatives.

There's tofu scramble, which you can easily make with tofu and various spices that you probably already have in your pantry.

The vegan brand Just Egg makes frozen folded egg patties, as well as a liquid analog to egg beaters, which can be used for scrambles and omelets.

And if you love hard-boiled eggs, you'll find it hard to discern the difference between them and Crafty Counter's Wunder Eggs.

As for egg replacements for baking, natural alternatives such as applesauce, aquafaba, and flaxseed are all great options that you may already have at home. There are also a few products on the market you can buy! Check out our guide to egg alternatives for baking here.