How long from fertilization until a chicken egg is laid?

Answer 1

Hens really do not have a gestational period the way a mammal does.

Gestation refers to a mammals egg being fertilized and being nurtured inside the body until the baby is ready to be born.

But chickens do have about 26 hours between eggs, this is the time it takes for one egg to be formed.

And the chicken egg if fertilized can have an incubation period of 21 days at which time a baby chick will hatch out.

Answer 2

Original Answer: The chicken egg laying cycle lasts for exactly 21 days when the eggs will start to get cracking into chicks.

Next Answer: The 21 days referred to in the previous answer is how long it takes a fertile chicken egg to hatch if it is incubated (either by a hen or an incubator).

The actual egg laying cycle of a chook can vary as not all breeds lay at the same rate. Commercial layers will lay a lot more frequently without a break and this is generally why they live short lives.

A purebred chook will lay in most cases less eggs each week, but they will lay for longer and often live for many years.

If eggs are laid daily the eggs might be laid a little later each day until the hen has a day off and then she'll start laying early again. It is believed the better the layer, the earlier in the day they'll lay and those which lay before 10am are top of the pile!

As a chook ages it will lay less eggs and in most cases will stop laying twice a year in the hottest and coldest months while they moult. In winter this is often driven by lack of daylight as hens require at least 16 hours of light to move into egg production mode. This is natures way of ensuring tiny chickens aren't being raised at innapropriate times of the year.

Hens can lay eggs without a rooster in the flock, but the eggs will not be fertile if there is no rooster.

Answer 3

Eggs do not need to be fertilized to be laid. No breed of hen will produce more than one egg every 24 hours and some breeds take 36 to 48 hrs between eggs. The majority of eggs produced by chickens around the world are not fertile. Fertile eggs are most often only available from roadside farm stands that sell fresh eggs. The eggs you buy in the store are produced by hens that have never seen a rooster.

Answer 4

The gestation period (time of pregnancy) for a chicken is 22 days.

Answer 5

Chicken eggs need to be incubated for 21 days to hatch. you can incubate them with an incubator or put them under a broody hen

Answer 6

Gestation period: 20 - 22 days.

Answer 7

21 days