How to Increase Egg Production in Commercial Layers

If you are thinking how to increase egg production in commercial layers, you have to keep
in mind something. You need to have a clear knowledge about the production capabilities
of your flocks. You must be aware of how to gauge the number of eggs that your flocks can
produce and obviously the factors that are affecting the egg production rate. You have to
identify the hens, which are egg laying chickens, which are not laying hens. When you have
all knowledge be sure that you are prepared for starting a successful poultry farming
business.

Egg Production Expectation

A laying hen lays only one egg in a day, and in some days it may not lay any eggs at all. It
totally depends on the hen’s reproductive system. A hen body start to form a new egg after
it has laid the previous egg. It takes about 26 hours to form an egg fully, so mathematically
a hen will lay its next egg two hours late each day, the reproductive system of a hen also
sensitive to light exposure. So if a hen lays egg too late in a day it will skip the next day.

A flock of hens do not start laying on the same day. They also do not lay eggs for the same
period of time. The time period that a hen will produce eggs varies from hen to hen. The
egg level of egg production decreases each year and the size of the eggs increases. The
number of eggs that a hen produces each year and the number of years that a hen produces
eggs depends on some factors:

1. Management of pullets prior to lay

2. Breed
3. Light management
4. Space allowances
5. Nutrition

Factors that Affect Egg Production of Poultry

There are many factors that directly or in directly affects the egg production rate. To know
these factors we need to do a research on the history of hens. The factors like aging, feed
consumption, water, intensity and duration of light, diseases etc affects the production of
eggs.

 Aging hens: Aging is a big problem in egg production. A hen can live many years and
it lays eggs continuously for these years. But after a sudden period of time like 2 or 3
years it’s egg production rate significantly reduces. It actually depends on the
quality of hens that you are raising. Good layer hens lay eggs continuously for about
50 to 60 weeks then it takes a break. This time period is called molt. Poor and older
layers more often molt and lay eggs less continuously.
 Improper Nutrition: Chickens need a balanced diet with enough level of protein and
calcium to continue the maximum egg production over a certain period of time.
 Improper nutrition can make the hens to stop laying eggs. Imbalanced level of
protein, energy and calcium can drop the egg production. That’s why it is so
important to supply a continuous balanced food to get a continuous supply of eggs.
Imbalanced food can cause many problems like oviductal prolapse. It mainly occurs
when the birds are too fat or the egg size is too large. Prolapse can cause permanent
damage to the hens.
 Rejecting important food ingredients: Another important factor that makes you
hens to lay eggs occasionally is the subtraction of important food ingredients.
o Salt: Every animal needs salt. If you subtract salt from the food list it will
reduce the egg production rate. Most of the animal’s food contains salt in the
form of sodium chloride. It doesn’t contain any iodine.
Sodium is an important nutrient which plays an important role in
maintaining the body fluid volume, proper osmotic relation and blood ph.
Chlorine is also an important ingredient. HCl which release from stomach
helps to digest food. Chlorine also maintains the osmotic balance in
body fluid.
o Calcium: The egg shell of hens is mainly composed of calcium carbonate. New
hens need relatively a low amount of calcium at their growing period but
when it start to lay eggs, it needs more calcium about four times relative to
previous days. Inadequate calcium supply will lead to reduce egg production
rate. Calcium can be supplied with the food. Limestone is a great source of
calcium. You can mix it with the food you supply to your hens.
o Vitamin D: Vitamin D is needed for the absorption of calcium. If improper
vitamin D is supplied with the food ingredient it will result in decreased egg
production. Feed contains vitamin D in two forms D3 and D2. In birds D3 is
more active than D2. So you have to supply vitamin D only in the form of D3.
o Protein: The requirement of protein is actually the requirement of amino
acid which constitute the protein. There are about 22 types of amino acid in
body protein and all of them are essential. Hens can’t produce all of them and
also can’t produce enough to meet their requirement. So poultry farmers
need to supply extra protein with the supplied food. The requirement of
amino acid depends on the age, type and strain.
 Management mistakes: Improper management system can also reduce egg
production. Some mistakes that the farmers often does are:
o Out of food is one of them. If you keep your hens out of food it will reduce its
egg production. The reduction of egg production depends on the time
without food. Make sure that your birds have enough supply of foods.
o Water is also an essential element. Water represents about 70% of body
weight. Inadequate water supply can also reduce egg production. Birds are
more sensitive to water than food.
o Daylight is also a great factor which controls the production of eggs. Hens
need at least 14 hours of daylight. The intensity of light must be sufficient to
increase egg production.

How To Manage Egg Producing Hens?

Two methods are followed for the housing and management system of layer hens and they
are the flood production and the caged layer production. By using any of these methods,
you can keep your hens in production throughout the year.

You should keep your chicken farm away from other. A good drainage system is a must for
the poultry farm. To provide enough light intensity, adequate light fixtures are needed. A
good supply of fresh and clean water is also a must.

The poultry house must allow a plenty of sunlight and ventilation. Removable doors or
curtains can be used so that the openings can easily be opened when the climate changes.
You need to keep the house comfortable and clean by ventilating from all the sides in the
time of summer and closing the openings at the time of winter.

The layer hens are placed in a poultry battery cage with the supply of enough food and
water to each cage. Each cage contains maximum 4 or 5 hens. Our poultry cages come with
full accessories: Nipple drinking system, Medication tanks, Adjustable foot plates for
leveling, Water pipe, Pipe connect and Feeder groove, etc. The cages provide big help to
increase egg production in chickens.

Floor production system is used either for egg type or broiler type birds. In commercial
birds, this method is used when for the production of fertile eggs. The birds are kept in a
covered floor to give them floor production. But we couldn’t take a full use of the coop
space by this way. And it’s not easy to collect the eggs and keep the eggs clean.

How Should You Plan Your Poultry for Maximum Egg Production?

To make sure that your poultry will increase egg production, you have to follow the process
described below:

 Provide basic needs:

o Food: To keep your flocks body functioning properly you need to supply
nutrient rice units each day, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.
For the laying flocks it is essential to provide them with 16 to 18 percent
protein and 3 % calcium with their daily food to keep them strong and for
strong egg shell. Many of the poultry farmers try to save money by feeding
household food scraps and scratch grains. It remarkably doesn’t increase the
egg production.
o Water: A constant supply of fresh and clean water is needed for maximum
egg production. Not only the hen’s body but also half of the eggs volume
consists of water. If you fail to supply enough amount of fresh water, eggs
production will not be increased. So you have to ensure that you have a
reliable water source for both hot and dry period.
 Clean coops: Which raising system you are using doesn’t matter. The thing that
really do matter is the environment where you raising your birds. You must avoid
crowding and you must try to keep the environment as clean as possible. Our
 poultry battery cage with automatic manure cleaning system may help you to solve
this problem. And you should not allow any visitors to your farm and if you need to
make a visit you should take a shower before you visit. You should avoid clothing
like baseball cap, shoes etc.
 Provide nest Boxes: To get eggs clean, nice and intact-you need to persuade your
birds to lay eggs where you want. Don’t let them lay eggs in some corner of the coop.
To do this job perfectly you can buy easy to clean nest boxes from any poultry
supply companies or you can build one as like as you want. Place those boxes at
least two feet off the ground and keep a layer of soft litter like non toxic wood
shaving. But if you need a better way, we still think you should buy the chicken cage,
the automatic egg collector may necessary for a big chicken farm.
Egg eating is a common thing among the hungry chicken and one chicken can teach
the other to do the same thing. So don’t let them grow this habit. Most of the chicken
finishes laying eggs by 10 am so knowing the exact time you have to collect the eggs
before a hungry hen attacks it.
 Set an artificial light source: Light is another good factor which controls the egg
production. For maximum egg production 14 hours of light is needed. Hens at
winter season reduce their egg production due to insufficient of light and its
intensity. But if you install an artificial light source in your farm and ensure 14 hours
of light with sufficient intensity. You will be able to increase the egg production rate.
 Clean the eggs: Frequent egg collection with dry, clean, uncovered coops and nest
box will last a long time keeping your bird’s eggs clean.
If the eggs are found to be clean you don’t need to wash it again, it will remove the
invisible protective layer. If the amount of dirt is small, you can follow these:
o Dry clean the eggs with the help of fine grit sandpaper.
o You can use weight washing. But if you do it improperly bacteria can be
sucked into the eggs.
o Do not store the eggs with odorous foods.

It doesn’t take much time to collect the eggs from a small layer flock if you know the right
ingredient.

How to identify the laying hens?

To determine the hens which are egg laying chickens, first you have to know about the
types of hens you are using, it is important to determine the hens. In many breeds, the hens
which are laying eggs have a large red combs and wattles. In other types of breed, the hens
which are laying eggs have a normal combs and wattles but it becomes fade after the laying
period. Hens like Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds have yellow pigment in their skin
and it is a good indication to identify the laying cycle the hens are now. The hens lose the
pigments in a specific order. First the color start to fade from the vent, then start to fade in
face and last of all the feet.

There is another method of identifying the hens which are laying now is by evaluating the
level of fat in the abdominal, and abdomen capacity which can be measured by measuring
the distance between the breast bones or between the pubic bones, or by measuring the
distance between the pubic bones and tip of the keel.

What’s The Reasons of Hens to Stop Laying Eggs?

There are many reasons which affect hens not to lay eggs. If your hens stop laying eggs you
can ask the following question to find out the reasons.

1. Does your hens lay eggs for more than 10 month or more? If the answer is yes then
remember that your hens are at the end of the laying cycle. Now it will stop eggs
production and go through a molt. It will take a break and then it will start laying
eggs again. But if your answer is no then make an investigation, there are something
else which is causing the lack of egg production.
2. Are you supplying enough clean water? If the hens can’t drink, they will not eat. So
you have to make sure that you have a good watering system for your hens. You
have to keep your watering system operational. It can be a challenging task for you
in winter season when the water becomes frozen. You can buy waterers which have
attached heater. It will prevent water from being frozen. Problems can occur in
summer too. The hens will stop drinking water if the temperature is too high.
3. Are the hens eating right feed? If your hens eat wrong food and if they don’t get
enough feed. It will molt repeatedly and reduce the egg production.
4. Do you provide enough light? Light has a direct impact on egg production. If you
don’t provide enough light, your hens will decrease the production rate. So, you
have to provide sufficient light to increase egg production rate.
5. Do your hens are infected by parasites? Both internal and external parasite can
affect the production rate. So you have to be careful.