Guides
Practical, opinionated reading from the editors. Short on filler. Long on useful detail you can actually use this weekend.
Chicken Coop Plans: Dimensions, Cut Lists and Materials
Free chicken coop plans for 4 to 12 hens: exact dimensions, a full 2×4 cut list, sheet counts and hardware cloth, plus a printable PDF. Blueprint numbers, no drawing.
Chicken Molting: When It Starts, How Long It Lasts, What to Feed
When hens molt, how long a molt takes, how to tell a molt from mites, and what to feed while feathers regrow — with the laying pause explained.
Candling Chicken Eggs: What You See on Days 1 to 21
What a candled egg looks like on each candling day, how to tell fertile from infertile, what a blood ring means, and how the air cell tells you your humidity is wrong.
Chicken Coop Sizes: What Size Coop for Every Flock
Coop dimensions by flock size, from 3 hens to 25, with the run, nest boxes and roost each needs — plus how to check whether an advertised capacity is honest.
Chicken Egg Incubation Chart: Day by Day, Day 1 to 21
A day-by-day chart of what develops inside the egg and what you do each day, from setting to hatch. Free printable PDF, with the source for every developmental stage.
What Size Coop for 100 Chickens?
100 standard hens need 400 sq ft of coop floor and 1000 sq ft of run, plus 25 nest boxes and 83 ft 4 in of roost. Adjusted for breed, climate and setup.
What Size Coop for 20 Chickens?
20 standard hens need 80 sq ft of coop floor and 200 sq ft of run, plus 5 nest boxes and 16 ft 8 in of roost. Adjusted for breed, climate and setup.
What Size Coop for 4 Chickens?
4 standard hens need 16 sq ft of coop floor and 40 sq ft of run, plus 2 nest boxes and 3 ft 4 in of roost. Adjusted for breed, climate and setup.
What Size Coop for 5 Chickens?
5 standard hens need 20 sq ft of coop floor and 50 sq ft of run, plus 2 nest boxes and 4 ft 2 in of roost. Adjusted for breed, climate and setup.
Incubator Temperature and Humidity for Chicken Eggs
Set a forced-air incubator to 99.5°F and a still-air to 101.5°F, with 50–55% humidity to day 18 and 65–75% at lockdown. Full chart for 8 poultry species, plus a printable PDF.
How Many Square Feet Per Chicken? Coop, Run and Range
A standard hen needs 4 sq ft of coop and 10 sq ft of run. The free-range figure is the contested one — published standards range from 2 to 871 sq ft, and here is why.
Black Star Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A Black Star hen lays about 280 large brown eggs a year — a sex-link hybrid, not a breed, with no institutional count. Plus a flock formula.
How Many Eggs Does a Sebright Lay Per Year?
A Sebright hen lays about 80 small cream eggs a year — Conservancy 60–80 ceiling, not a middle. Exhibition first; month by month and a flock formula.
How Many Eggs Does a White-Crested Polish Lay Per Year?
A White-Crested Polish hen lays about 150 medium white eggs a year — the Conservancy breed-page point, below the chart's 200+. Plus a flock formula.
Olive Egger Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
An Olive Egger hen lays about 200 large olive-green eggs a year — a cross, not a breed, with no institutional count. Band by SKU, plus a flock formula.
Lavender Orpington Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A Lavender Orpington hen lays about 220 large brown eggs per year — the same band as Buff. Ranges by age and season, plus a flock formula.
How Many Eggs Does a Blue Andalusian Lay Per Year?
A Blue Andalusian hen lays about 165 large white eggs per year — near the Conservancy chart's ~160. Estimates by management and stock, plus a flock formula.
How Many Eggs Does a Hamburg Lay Per Year?
A Hamburg hen lays about 200 medium white eggs per year — the Conservancy Excellent-band floor. Estimates by strain and age, plus a flock formula.
How Many Eggs Does a Light Sussex Lay Per Year?
A Light Sussex hen lays about 240 large brown eggs per year — inside the Conservancy Sussex band. Estimates by age and management, plus a flock formula.
How Many Eggs Does a Salmon Faverolles Lay Per Year?
A Salmon Faverolles hen lays about 180 tinted cream eggs per year - the floor of the Conservancy band (180-200). Estimates by age, plus a flock formula.
New Hampshire Red Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A New Hampshire Red hen lays about 220 large brown eggs per year — the top of its institutional range. Estimates by strain and age, plus a flock formula.
Cochin Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A Cochin hen lays about 160 brown eggs per year — but only when she is not brooding. Estimates by brooding frequency and age, plus a flock formula.
How Many Eggs Do Chickens Lay Per Year? Breed Chart
Most hens lay 200 to 300 eggs per year. Compare 20 chicken breeds by yearly eggs, egg color, and type, with a formula to estimate your own flock.
How Many Eggs Does a Barnevelder Lay Per Year?
A Barnevelder hen lays 180 to 200 dark brown eggs per year. Realistic estimates by line and age, a month-by-month breakdown, and a formula for any flock size.
How Many Eggs Does a Barred Rock Lay Per Year?
A Barred Rock hen lays 200 to 250 eggs per year. Estimates by age and season, a month-by-month breakdown, and a formula for any flock size.
Brahma Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A Brahma hen lays 150 to 200 eggs per year. Realistic estimates by variety and age, a month-by-month winter breakdown, and a formula for any flock size.
Buff Orpington Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A Buff Orpington hen lays about 220 large light-brown eggs per year. Ranges by age and season, a month-by-month breakdown, and a flock formula.
How Many Eggs Does a Cream Legbar Lay Per Year?
A Cream Legbar hen lays about 200 sky-blue eggs per year (170 to 230 by strain). Estimates by strain and age, a month-by-month breakdown, and a flock formula.
Delaware Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A Delaware hen lays about 200 large brown eggs per year (150 to 280 by strain). Estimates by strain and age, a month-by-month breakdown, and a flock formula.
Golden Comet Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A Golden Comet hen lays 250 to 320 eggs per year, about 5 to 6 a week. Realistic ranges by age, a month-by-month breakdown, and a formula for any flock.
Jersey Giant Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A Jersey Giant hen lays 150 to 200 large brown eggs per year. Estimates by strain and age, a month-by-month breakdown, and a flock formula.
Leghorn Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A Leghorn hen lays 250 to 320 eggs per year. Realistic estimates by strain and age, a month-by-month breakdown, and a formula for any flock size.
Marans Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A Marans hen lays 150 to 200 eggs per year. Realistic estimates by line and age, a month-by-month breakdown, and a formula for any flock size.
Rhode Island Red Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A Rhode Island Red hen lays about 260 eggs per year (200 to 300). Estimates by strain and age, a month-by-month breakdown, and a flock formula.
Sapphire Gem Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A Sapphire Gem hen lays about 280 extra-large brown eggs a year — Hoover's trademarked hybrid SKU, not a breed. Month by month and a flock formula.
How Many Eggs Does a Silkie Lay Per Year?
A Silkie hen lays 80 to 120 eggs per year, about 2 a week. Estimates by broodiness and age, a month-by-month breakdown, and a formula for any flock size.
How Many Eggs Does a Speckled Sussex Lay Per Year?
A Speckled Sussex hen lays 200 to 260 eggs per year. Realistic ranges by strain and broodiness, a month-by-month breakdown, and a formula for any flock size.
Welsummer Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A Welsummer hen lays 150 to 220 terracotta eggs per year. Realistic estimates by line and age, a month-by-month breakdown, and a formula for any flock size.
Wyandotte Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
A Wyandotte hen lays 180 to 240 eggs per year, about 4 to 5 a week at peak. See ranges by line and age, a month-by-month table, and a flock formula.
How Many Eggs Does an Ameraucana Lay Per Year?
An Ameraucana hen lays 150 to 200 blue eggs per year. Realistic estimates by strain and age, a month-by-month breakdown, and a formula for any flock size.
How Many Eggs Does an Australorp Lay Per Year?
An Australorp hen lays about 280 eggs per year (250–300). Realistic estimates by age and season, a month-by-month breakdown, and a formula for any flock size.
Easter Egger Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
An Easter Egger hen lays 180 to 280 eggs per year. Realistic ranges by line and age, a month-by-month breakdown, and a formula for any flock size.
ISA Brown Egg Production: How Many Eggs Per Year?
An ISA Brown hen lays 280 to 330 eggs per year. Realistic estimates by age, a month-by-month breakdown, and a formula for any flock size.
Why Chickens Stop Laying Eggs: 12 Causes and How to Fix Each One
Egg production suddenly dropped? Here are the 12 most common reasons hens stop laying — from molt to disease — and exactly what to do about each one.