Flock Age & Replacement Planner
Enter your hens, their age and the eggs you want to see how production will fall, and how many pullets to add each year.
A flock does not lay the same number of eggs forever. Hens are at their best in their first year of laying, then production drops each year, and at some point a flock of six that once covered the family is giving you three eggs a day and eating the same amount of feed. This planner shows what your flock will lay as it ages, when it will drop below what you need, and how many pullets to add each year so the eggs keep coming.
Flock Age & Replacement Planner
Production uses typical annual averages by year of laying. Real flocks vary with breed, feed, daylight, moulting and weather, and winter eggs are usually fewer than summer.
Eggs per week now: —
In 12 months, with no new hens: —
In 24 months, with no new hens: —
When it falls below your target: —
Hens to hit your target now: —
Pullets to add each year: —
Steady flock size: —
Full guide, more detail, and a printable version at https://hollyshomestead.com.au/tools/flock-age-replacement-planner.html
How It’s Worked Out
Pullets start laying at about five months. After that, a commercial hybrid lays roughly 270 eggs in her first year of laying, then about 230, 200, 170 and 140 in the following years. A heritage hen lays about 180, then 150, 125, 100 and 80. The planner follows your hens month by month through that decline, with some hens lost each year, and shows the eggs per week you can expect if you add no new birds. It then works out the steady-state flock: if you replace hens after a set number of years, how many pullets to add each year, and how many hens you will have in total.
Hens do not stop laying suddenly, and older hens still lay larger eggs and can be good mothers and foragers. If you keep hens as pets, the replacement plan is just a guide to how many eggs to expect. Replace on a schedule only if eggs are the point, and plan for what to do with the older hens, since a cull is a decision about your whole flock.
Keeping the Eggs Steady
Add a few pullets every year rather than the whole flock every few years, so you always have hens at their peak and you never have a year with no eggs. Raise or buy them about five months before you need the eggs. New birds need a quarantine period and a gradual introduction. The incubation planner can time a hatch, and the coop planner checks you have room for the extra birds.