When Do Chickens Start Laying Eggs? What Year One Costs Before That
Hens that start as chicks eat for months before the first egg. That gap is the most underestimated cost in year one.
By the Egg Cost Check team · Published 2026-10-19 · Updated 2026-10-19
The short answer
University of New Hampshire Extension: Producing Your Own Eggs says chickens typically begin laying at about four months of age. If you raise chicks, it advises planning on about five months before the first eggs. It also notes that chicks bought in April or May usually start laying around July or August.
What that means for your first year
Five months is about 21 to 22 weeks. A flock that starts as chicks may have more than 20 weeks of the first year with no eggs, and you still pay for feed, bedding and brooder supplies the whole time.
In our calculator, enter that gap in the weeks without eggs field under first-year setup. The default of 8 weeks suits birds that are close to laying, not chicks.
Feed stages you will pay for
Penn State Extension: Successfully Raising a Small Flock of Laying Chickens describes three feed stages:
- Chick starter from week 0 to week 6
- Grower from week 6 to week 18
- Layer ration from week 18 on
Each stage is a different feed, so a flock raised from chicks buys more than one product before it produces anything.
Chicks or older birds?
| Starts as chicks | Older birds | |
|---|---|---|
| Up-front price per bird | Lower | Higher |
| Months with no eggs | About five | Fewer |
| Extra supplies | Brooder and heat source | None |
Run the calculator both ways with real quotes from your area. The cheaper bird can still give the higher first-year cost per dozen.
How long a hen keeps producing
University of New Hampshire Extension: Producing Your Own Eggs says each hen should produce 20 dozen or more over about 13 months of production, and that birds should be allowed to molt at about that point. Hens do not lay forever, so a plan for replacing them belongs in your budget. We leave replacement hens out of the calculator, as the method page says.
See how year one compares with the store →
Sources
- University of New Hampshire Extension: Producing Your Own Eggs
- Penn State Extension: Successfully Raising a Small Flock of Laying Chickens
More guides
- Why Chickens Stop Laying: Winter Light, Molting and Other Causes
- How Much Coop and Run Space Does Each Chicken Need?
- How to Protect Your Chickens from Predators
- Backyard Flock Health: Bird Flu, Salmonella and Safe Eggs
How we write: we link the sources we use, we label examples as examples and we do not claim hands-on results we have not had. See our method. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.