How Long Does it Take for a Chicken to Start Laying Eggs?

 

Generally when people make the decision to get chickens, the main reason(s) for getting them don't include companionship or entertainment. While companionship and entertainment can be "side effects" of having chickens, usually the chicken's ability to be a food service provider takes precedent over their other qualities. 

That being said, how long do you have to wait until that fuzzy chick starts paying you back with breakfast? 

Depending on the breed of chicken you get, you can expect to start getting the first (tiny) eggs within 18-26 weeks of age (starting from the day they hatch). As a general rule of thumb, the commercial laying breeds start laying earlier, and more uniformly than heritage/non-commercial hens. However, I have had non-commercial hens start laying fairly early (19 weeks), but almost all the commercial hens that I have start laying at 17-18 weeks. For anyone out there who is contemplating getting chickens and is somewhat turned off at the 4.5-5 month wait time that it takes to start getting eggs, just remember that out of most farm animals, chickens have the least days to maturity. To compare: on average, a dairy goat takes about 1 year (maximum) to reach maturity, and compared to a cow (about 18 months to 2 years), chickens take almost no time at all! Another thing to remember is that both goats and cows have to have a kid (baby goat) or a calf (baby cow). That means that you will have to wait 1 yr. & 5 months for a goat, and close to 3 years for a cow. On the other hand, chickens just start laying eggs around 5 months old. 

Chickens are commonly referred to as "the gateway animal." Just to be clear, we aren't talking about drugs (but, depending on how much you like animals, you can get "addicted" and become a "chicken collector." Take me for example: I started with 10 chickens five years ago, and now have over 200 chickens/ducks just 5 years later.) The point being is this: if you aren't patient enough to wait 5 months for eggs, you won't be patient enough to wait for milk. My suggestion would be to try meat chickens, as they only take a max of 10 weeks (minimum of 6 weeks). Being patient with animals makes all the difference when it comes to experience. Constantly being in a hurry and rushing around the animals only makes them stressed, which then causes reduced production, which then makes you mad at the animals for not "living up to your standards."

If you are a patient person, the options can be endless! I am one of those people who would like to all sorts (and lots of) animals, but there are other limitations that prevent me from doing so;)

Essentially, patience, hard work, and research are the three things that will maximize your benefit (and consequently, the birds) and enjoyment of having any kind of animal.