12 Ways to Tell a Chicken is Still Laying Eggs

How do you know if your chicken is still laying eggs? Here’s how to tell if a chicken is still laying or is a liar, and what to do with them.

With the price of feed and time spent on cleaning coops and such, it’s really important for us to know what hens are still laying eggs. We always have to check and ask ourselves, “Is this chicken still laying eggs, or are they just eating food?”

layer or liar post

There are several ways you can tell if your chicken is still laying, without requiring a lot of fancy scientific research or analysis on your part! Here are some tips.

I *could* go outside, watch for each one to enter the nesting box, wait for her to deposit her egg, then mark her in a way that I would know she was still laying. But, since I don’t have that kind of time on my hands, there is an easier way to do it. This is the method we learned in our 4H poultry club, and has worked for us time and again.

Why Do Chickens Stop Laying Eggs?

If you’re wondering whether your chickens are still laying eggs, it might be helpful to first pinpoint why they would stop in the first place.

Most of the time, chickens are still laying – they’re just doing so very infrequently.

Once chickens hit a certain age, their production starts to decline. They’re probably still laying eggs, but doing it so infrequently it seems like they aren’t laying at all.

If age isn’t a factor, your chickens might stop or slow down laying if they’re getting fewer than 14 hours of sunlight per day. Chickens’ hormones rely on cues from the sun, so as the daylight hours get shorter, it’s common for egg production to drop, too.

Molting can cause your chickens to stop laying as well. This first occurs at around 18 months of age and almost always in the fall. In this process, which occurs every year thereafter, a hen will lose all of her old feathers and grow new ones. It takes up a lot of energy, so it often causes a hen to stop laying.

Broodiness is another natural process that – although frustrating – is quite common. It can cause a hen to stop laying because she is focusing her energy on hatching eggs rather than laying them.

A threat from a predator, disease, or parasite can also cause chickens tos stop laying. Any kind of stress can spell disaster for your daily egg collection.

Finally, if it’s very cold outside, that might be why a hen has stopped laying, too. It takes a lot of energy to maintain body heat, so a hen will spend less of her energy on producing eggs, and more on staying warm in inclement weather.

How to Tell if Your Chicken is Still Laying: 12 Tips

Check her vent, keel bone, and abdomen.

Here’s how. Gently hold your chicken and flip her over so you can see her vent. This is her “butt” or where the eggs come out of. You are looking for a moist looking vent. A dry one signals that her laying life isn’t happening.

How do you know if a chicken is still laying eggs? Here's how to tell if a chicken is still laying or is a liar, and what to do with them.

Next, feel for her keel bone.

How do you know if a chicken is still laying eggs? Here's how to tell if a chicken is still laying or is a liar, and what to do with them.

This is the bottom of the breastbone. Then, place your fingers from the keel bone toward the vent. 1-2 fingers mean that she is still laying. 3-4 means that she isn’t laying so well anymore.

Feel her abdomen.

If it’s nice and soft, you have a layer. Hard and firm, a liar.

2. Check the comb and leg color.

Next, check her comb and leg color.

How do you know if a chicken is still laying eggs? Here's how to tell if a chicken is still laying or is a liar, and what to do with them.

A chicken will “lose” her color from the top down and gain it back in the same order. When she is in full egg production, her comb will begin to lose it’s deep color, on down. If her legs are a bright yellow, her laying life is pretty much over.

3. Watch for egg-laying behavior.

No, you don’t need to stake out the chicken coop in order to do this! Just casually observe your hens’ behavior to see if she is exhibiting some of the “classic” signs of laying. You could also install a motion-sensor camera or video recorded to keep track of this, too!

A productive hen will squat when you attempt to touch her, and she will repeatedly seek out dark, secluded areas. She might look restless during egg-laying time – which is usually sometime in the morning – and she may be extra talkative at this time, too.

Your hen’s first eggs might be in odd places, so keep a lookout! More on this below.

4. Look for hiding spots.

If you suspect that a hen has stopped laying because you haven’t found any of her eggs lately, consider whether she might be hiding them on you. Hens will stop laying in the nest box for a wide variety of reasons – she may have been startled out of it by another aggressive hen, a predator, or even lice or mites in the nest boxes.

Consider scoping out some of the other private, secluded areas on your property. Some hot spots to check include under porches and decks, in barns, in compost bins, or near sheds. Your hen will lay anywhere she can find a moment of peace – and it doesn’t have to be the nest box you’ve so kindly established for her.

If you think hidden eggs might be to blame – and don’t think she’s ceased laying altogether – you can try to “trick” her back into laying in the nest boxes by placing a few decoy eggs in the box. These can be wooden eggs or even golf balls – she will think they are eggs and be re-encouraged to lay there again.

If your hen is laying somewhere besides the nest box – or if laying eggs in the nest box has for whatever reason made her nervous and she is thinking about laying eggs somewhere else (even if she hasn’t started yet) – you might watch her engage in the act of preparing other nesting areas. She might rearrange “bedding” materials like straw, grass, sand, or other items. She will walk around in this area repeatedly as she prepares to lay.

5. See how she interacts with the roosters.

Roosters generally won’t try to breed pullets that aren’t at laying age yet – and they’re also less likely to breed unproductive older hens. Why? They won’t be fertile if they aren’t laying eggs. Therefore, if a rooster is showing your hen a lot of extra attention, it’s not likely that she has stopped laying altogether.

Another telltale sign? If your hen has worn feathers, particularly those on her back and neck that appear to be rumpled or pulled, there’s a strong likelihood that the rooster has been giving her attention of late.

Squatting is a behavior that is indicative of a breeding-age hen – or in other words, one who is actively laying. You can determine whether your chicken is engaging in squatting by simply placing your hand directly over the hen’s back. Don’t touch it. If she squats, with her back pressed downward and her legs and wings spread – she is still laying eggs.

This position is assumed by hens when they are mating. They’ll do it even if there aren’t any roosters around, too.

6. Look at her legs, beak, and face.

A hen who is laying will have a dull-looking beak, legs, and face. A hen who is vibrantly colored in these areas is sadly not laying.

A hen who is laying will be putting all of her energy and extra calcium into producing eggs – not into looking pretty. A productive hen won’t be the prettiest in your flock, but she’ll likely be producing the most eggs.

7. Consider trapping your hens.

You can easily trap your hens to figure out who is laying. If you have limited nest boxes and a lot of hens, you may have to do this several times to figure out who is laying and who is not.

This process is also referred to as “trap nesting.” While it’s normally done with breeding hens, you can also do it to figure out who is laying. If you have a lot of hens, you’ll probably need to keep checking back quite often.

Basically, a trap nest is a unit that you can attach to the front of a nest-box. When a hen enters the nest, the gate on the device will shut and trap her inside.

You will want to check your nests frequently, as it is cruel to leave a bird in a nest box for long periods of time- especially if it is warm. If she lays and becomes bored, there’s also a strong likelihood she will eat her egg or could even become dehydrated.

However, if you are diligent and able to check your trap every hour or so, you will be able to figure out which hens are productive. We suggest marking each hen as you remove it so you know which ones you’ve checked.

Be careful about checking the traps. If the weather is particularly warm, it’s easy for hens to become dehydrated and sick. During periods of extreme weather (either very warm or very cold) either avoid trapping or check your traps as often as possible.

If you don’t want to use a trap to figure out whether your hens are laying, a good alternative is to simply isolate your birds. If you have some that you suspect are not laying, consider moving them to a new coop or chicken tractor so that you can evaluate them on their own for a while.

If they haven’t laid an egg in a few days (or however long your specific chicken breed generally takes to produce an egg), it’s probably safe to assume they are no longer productive.

8. Use food coloring.

You can put a few drops of food coloring on a hen’s vent. This should help you see whether she is laying. When she lays an egg, you will see drops of color on the eggs. Use different colors for multiple hens. The food coloring shouldn’t harm the chickens or the eggs, either.

9. Consider the age and the season.

If your chickens have been productive layers their entire lives, don’t assume that they will continue to be productive into old age. Most egg production drops off substantially after the first two years, with an almost complete shut-off by age four or five.

This is not standard, though, and depending on the breed you may have hens that lay for what seems like forever. Age can be a helpful tool in determining whether you hen should still be laying – not necessarily whether she still is.

The time of year can also play a role in egg production. If it’s wintertime, your hens are less likely to lay, primarily because the daylight hours are shorter.

You can encourage them to lay by hanging a light in your chicken coop, or you can just ride out the storm and wait for egg production to gradually return to normal. After all, the winter season gives your girls some time to recover from an intense year of producing eggs!

10. Examine the carriage of your chicken.

A good laying hen will generally be alert and aware of her surroundings. She won’t hang listlessly about, and she definitely won’t be lazy! A laying hen will have bright, confident eyes and she will engage in general chicken behavior like scratching, running around with the other chickens, and so on. A chicken that appears lethargic might not be laying anymore.

11. Look at the skin of your chicken.

Gently coax back the feathers of your chicken and look at her skin. A laying bird should have a pale skin color that is clear, while a non-layer will tend to have darker skin. It can be hard to tell the difference in shades, so it’s a good idea to compare a hen you know is laying with one you suspect might not be productive any more.

12. Listen.

Hens often cackle after laying eggs. This is a relatively telltale sound, and if you’re used to having laying hens around, you probably already know what it sounds like. It is a good method of determining whether your hens– or which hens specifically- are laying.

Strategies to Increase Egg Production

If you want to boost egg production so you never have to wonder who’s still laying and why (or why not), you might want to consider the following tips.

Be Realistic

If you are obsessively monitoring your hens each day for them to lay an egg, you’re going to be disappointed. Most hens don’t lay eggs every single day. In fact, it takes up to 26 hours to create a single egg for some breeds, so it might not even be biologically possible for her to lay each day.

Plus, conditions like molting and bad weather can both cause a temporary dip in egg production.

80 to 90% egg production (for an entire flock) is a reasonable goal (100% would be each hen laying one egg each day). However, keep in mind that housing, nutrition, weather, breed, and even parasite loads can all impact how many eggs your hens lay. Be realistic when you’re trying to figure out ways to increase your egg production!

Choose the Right Breed

Some breeds of chickens are far better at lying prolific amounts of eggs than others. Some of the best for egg production, laying an egg almost everyday or every other day, include:

  • Hybrids like Golden Comets
  • Plymouth Barred Rocks
  • White Leghorns
  • Rhode Island Reds
  • Blue Andalusians
  • Americaunas
  • Sussex
  • Buff Orpingtons

Add More Light

If fall has recently arrived and the daylight hours are waning, this could be the main reason behind a sudden dip in egg production.

Most hens naturally slow down in the fall and winter months. This is to be expected and nothing to worry about – it’s a natural process. However, if you really don’t want to see a decline in egg production, you can put a supplemental light in the coop to encourage them to keep laying.

Revamp the Nutrition Plan

If your chicken aren’t getting enough of vital nutrients like protein and calcium, it could cause them to temporarily stop or cut back on laying. Feed a complete layer feed with at least 17 to 18% protein. It should also contain calcium. When your hens are molting, you can increase the protein to around 20% and cut back on the calcium a bit.

Reduce Stress

As I mentioned earlier, hens will often stop laying if they are feeling stressed. Make sure your girls aren’t suffering from any diseases, pests, or parasites, and shore up the coop and run against potential predator threats.

Increased Space

Make sure each hen has access to a nesting box. Ideally, you should have at least one nesting box for every four hens.

Your hens also need plenty of room in the coop and run. If you suspect that your girls are feeling a little crowded, adding more space or even allowing the birds to free range might rectify some of your issues.

How Long Does a Laying Hen Last?

Most hens will lay eggs for about six or seven years, though some lay right up until the day they die at age eight to ten.

However, eggs won’t be consistent throughout this time.

Most hens lay their first eggs around 18 weeks of age (though some breeds can be as early as 15 or 16 weeks, if they’re high production lines). Some will lay daily or almost daily afterward, with the typical one-year-old hen averaging 250 eggs per year in her first year.

The first year tends to be the best in terms of egg production – things will slow down quite a bit after that.

What to Do With “Retired” Chickens

If your hen has stopped laying, you have a few options. If your hen isn’t very old, I recommend first trying some of the tips above to encourage her to resume her typical laying patterns again.

However, if she’s on the old side, you may want to consider culling her. Although the meat will likely be very tough, you can often use chickens like these in soup stocks and broths instead.

You could always donate your chicken to other farms, too – lots of people look for therapy pets and an old, friendly hen makes a great option.

Rule Out Other Factors

Make sure your hen is not molting or broody. A hen who is wrapped up in either of these behaviors will not lay eggs.

You can tell your hen is molting if she has lost feathers and it is the fall – molting helps your hens put on new feathers to keep them warm during the cold winter months. Similarly, if your hen is broody, you will know for sure that she is not laying eggs because she will be sitting on them all the time.

Otherwise, you can help figure out whether a hen is laying by cross-checking your own care for your flock. Are you giving your birds access to clean, fresh water at all times? Are you providing adequate nutrition with plenty of calcium? Do you suspect that your hen might have parasites or some kind of disease?

All of these conditions, if not met and addressed appropriately, can cause your hens to lay fewer eggs – or no eggs at all. Luckily, once you fix them, egg production should start back up relatively soon.

With all these signs, the top pictures of each group are from an obvious liar, and the bottom a layer. You have to decide if the liar is worth keeping around. In our cases, personally, they are not and we cull them from the flock. Here’s how to do that for yourself. Keeping lots of “liars” around means that you are providing feed and water, but not getting anything out of it for yourself.

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How do you tell which chickens in your flock are still laying? Be sure to pin this for later on your favorite Pinterest board!

how to tell if chickens are still laying

updated by Rebekah Pierce August 20th 2021

24 thoughts on “12 Ways to Tell a Chicken is Still Laying Eggs”

  1. I like the idea of owning chickens for eggs and meat, but not sure I would have people to take care of them if we are gone for a vacation. Plus I don’t know if we are allowed to have them in our town.

    1. Understandable…most towns are allowing them now, or you can work to change the laws. They are getting easier and easier to have 😉

  2. Thx for sharing on Homesteaders Hop. I find that just looking at the comb is enough to tell if she’s laying. Also, I disagree with what you say about the leg color. Yellow legs tend to fade as the hen ages. Faded legs indicates advancing age, not how well she is laying per se. Older ones tend to lay few eggs, but there are many exceptions. If I were to get into raising them for meat, I would cull as you do, though I don’t really find it a problem to let them live out their retirement. Natural attrition ensures that we never have an all old lady flock, and I think the younger ones learn from the old hens, who are very aware of the neighborhood pets and predators, which are dangerous and which are not.

    1. Thanks for your input! Unfortunately, we aren’t able to afford to allow them to live to their old age 😉 We don’t have a lot of free range room, and feed is around $35 a bag in my area currently. I wish we could, though, for the same reasons that you mentioned.

      1. We are looking into fodder for our ladies, we’ve never culled, and never will. We feed our flock (add new chicks to) so we aren’t left with a non productive flock. We treat our’s like pets and always will. Fodder is SO much cheaper…. so money will not be a reason or issue.

        1. I’m with you. I have never “culled” a flock. I’ve raised my girls and they have given me food for my table plus endless entertainment and affection. I will not darken it by killing my friends. They deserve a peaceful full life and I let them have it.

      2. A lot of great info. But, as someone mentioned above, we only have 23 hens and a rooster. I have four chickens that I know for a fact aren’t laying because they don’t and they are seven years old lol. I would rather them live out their lives into old age than cull them because they aren’t producing. But, we don’t raise for meat so ??‍♀️

  3. Wonderful info! I have had ckickens for 25 years. You taught me something! I always wondered who was not laying and pretty much relied in age. I know I fed them MUCH longer than needed before going in the soup pot! I am going to save same money thanks to you. 🙂

  4. I was just introduced to your blog from another site I visit and I am really enjoying it so far. Let me just say that a lot of people, myself included, have a hard time letting go of their hens. My chickens are also pets (they are hand reared, tamed in the house before introduced to the rest of the flock. We decided that we would rather have birds we can handle in case of emergency and so far it works well). Unfortunately, as the original flock started to become matriarchal, my husband and I had to have the talk. Who do we bury, who do we throw in the crock pot. So, we agreed on a “pardon list”. On it, my rooster and two of my favorite hens. I will definitely use these tips. Thank you.

  5. I don’t care if my chickens are laying. To us they are pets. And sure they lay eggs, but I would never cull one for the sake of her not laying. The only way I would cull one would be if I absolutely had to. But even that I would have a really hard time doing.

      1. Phyllis Hense

        Thank you for the information. I have only a couple ladies and don’t like the mess of culling but will in time. These two are getting on and I will need to replace them in the next year or two. Your post will let me know when is good.

  6. Some very good things here! However, I would like to correct on one thing. A bright, deep colored comb does not signify a lack of laying…quite the contrary. A bright comb and wattle actually signify a good healthy bird, but has nothing to do with laying, except a good healthy bird will probably lay better than a sick one. The dull color would concern me. The feet and beak DO signify how well a chicken is laying, though. The yolk get it’s color from the chicken’s pigment, so if they have pale legs and beaks it’s a pretty good indicator they are indeed are laying.

  7. Great post! I have never seen this method before and have had chickens for many years and frequent online discussion forums as well. I suppose this would work to see if pullets have started to lay also, right? I’m heading out now to do an inventory of layers vs. liars. I have 87 chickens of which 4 are roosters so I’ll be out there awhile.

  8. I am totally confused you say 2fingers from the keel bone to the vent, chicken is laying. and four fingers they are not laying and yet others say the other way around four for laying and two for not laying so how do I sort this out which of you is right.

    I just wish the information on the www was reliable. My problem is I have two different aged chickens, Four I bred myself and 6, I purchased. they are Dark brown Leghorns. unfortunately it took too long to get the leg bands to be able to identify the older and younger chickens. So now I have to try and sort them out. I am still waiting for the leg bands. but I really need to know how to sort the different age chickens. I think my four younger hens are laying as I am getting four eggs each day. the other chickens seem to be having a bludge. Also I have just set some more eggs. so hopefully I will be able to identify my chickens once the leg bands come. I am thinking of checking the vents on my chickens and any with dry vents are for the chop. as I can not afford to have non-productive chickens.

    Only problem is I find it very hard to dispose of them. I do not like to kill anything. Maybe I will be able to give them away. but who wants a non -productive chook? I am an old softie.

    I really do not want to dispose of the wrong chickens. I spoil my chickens rotten. so they are all in very good condition and its very hard to tell the young from the old. even their combs and wattles are identical. Legs are very much the same so no luck there. I can tell the aged of the roosters as the spurs are different lengths, however the hens are very similar. as I said all my chickens are in very good condition. so even the feathers are very similar. it is very difficult to tell the difference. I have been reading up on how to tell. and there seems to be as many theories as there are different breeds of chickens.

    Do older chickens take longer to lay eggs after molting because my chickens have just finished molting. and I really do not wish to dispose of potentially productive chickens. So please someone out there give me some rock solid advice on ageing chickens. thanks heaps Harry.

    1. Chickens can continue to lay until they are 3-5 years old…some longer, depending on the breed. I have hear of hens 7 years old still laying, although not as much. That’s not the norm, but it CAN happen.
      The information I shared is what we learned in 4H from our club and the state poultry board, and what we have always gone by.

      For our girls, we use them as stewing hens after 3 years regardless. I can imagine how hard it is to eat a pet, too. Perhaps you could just keep them in their old age? Some people do keep hens, even after they no longer lay. Good luck with your flock!

  9. Great information.
    I personally have meat birds separate from my egg layers. I free range so feeding is only done in the winter except a handful of scratch to keep them returning.
    Made the decision long ago that if any animal is a producer for a number of years then they deserve a retirement. Since my girls also do pest patrol and even my older girls will go broody and hatch eggs and care for chicks, I figure it’s worth a few years of extra fodder in the winter. Personally I feel it’s part of being the stewards of the land and not just consumers.

  10. Thank you for your info. I live in city limits with chicken limits as well. I’m trying to weigh the cost of buying more POL’s with the occasional 1-2 eggs I’m getting a week now. The birds are still mildly productive, but the cost of feed is so high. We have chickens for eggs, not for pets because we can’t afford a pet. I don’t have the space to start from eggs or baby chicks. Argh…wish I could have a rooster 🙁 .

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