What to Feed Laying Hens for Better Eggs
Reviewed by Dr. Valerie Henley, poultry veterinarian, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Good eggs start in the feed scoop. If your hens are laying thin shells, pale yolks or fewer eggs than you'd like, the fix is usually simpler than it looks, and most of it costs very little. Here's what a laying hen actually needs, how much to give her, and where the extras fit in.
The short answer
Give laying hens a complete layer feed (about 16% protein and 3 to 4% calcium) and make it most of what they eat. Put oyster shell in its own dish so they can top up on calcium. Keep treats and scratch to what they'll clean up in about 20 minutes, and keep clean water in front of them every day. If you want richer yolks or a little extra support, add a natural topper to the feed they already eat.
Start with a complete layer feed
A good bagged layer feed covers almost everything a hen in lay needs: protein for egg whites and feathers, calcium for shells, and the vitamins and minerals that keep her laying. Oregon State University Extension puts layer feeds at about 16% protein, with 3 to 4% calcium. If you're curious what's actually in the bag, we break it down in what is in chicken feed.
Pellets, crumbles and mash all work. Pellets and crumbles waste less, because a hen can't pick out the bits she likes and flick the rest onto the floor. (She will try.) Mash is fine too, and some keepers dampen it slightly to cut down on mess.
As for how much, a laying hen eats roughly a quarter to a third of a pound of feed a day. That's about 18 to 24 lb a week for 10 hens, according to the University of Kentucky's poultry extension. Expect them to eat more in cold weather and less when it's hot. Most backyard keepers just keep the feeder topped up through the day and watch how fast it goes down.
Store feed somewhere cool and dry, and don't buy more than you'll get through while it's fresh. Old feed can go moldy, and moldy feed shouldn't go anywhere near your flock.
When to switch to layer feed
Switch from grower to layer feed when your pullets start laying, usually around 20 weeks. Don't jump early. Layer feed carries far more calcium than growing birds need, and the University of Kentucky warns that high-calcium diets can damage young chickens' kidneys.
Got a mixed flock, with pullets, a rooster or older hens that have retired from laying? An all-flock feed with oyster shell on the side is the easy answer. The layers take the extra calcium they need, and everyone else ignores it.
Thin or soft shells? Check calcium first
Every shell takes a lot of calcium, more than a hen can store, so when shells come out thin, rough or easy to crack, calcium is the first thing to look at.
- Offer oyster shell free-choice, in its own dish, not mixed into the feed. Each hen takes what she needs. Oregon State recommends a separate feeder for it.
- Make sure layer feed is most of the diet. A hen who fills up on treats eats less of the feed that carries her calcium.
- Don't confuse oyster shell with grit. If your hens eat scratch or forage, they need insoluble grit to grind it, and oyster shell is too soft for that job.
Calcium isn't the only cause. Age, heat, stress and illness all show up in the shells too. If thin or shell-less eggs carry on for more than a week or two with oyster shell on offer, or a hen just seems off, call a poultry vet.
Protein: when hens need more
The 16% protein in layer feed covers a hen in lay. She needs more during the molt, when she's regrowing a full set of feathers and has usually stopped laying anyway. Plenty of keepers switch to a higher-protein feed for those weeks, keep oyster shell on the side, and go back to layer feed when the eggs return. There's more on this in our guide to why chickens molt and how to support them.
Treats and kitchen scraps: keep them small
Treats are where most diets go wrong. Hens are not subtle about it: put scratch and layer pellets down side by side and you know which one goes first. Scratch, scraps and mealworms are fine. They just aren't balanced, and a hen will happily fill up on them instead of her feed.
- Keep treats to about 10 to 15% of what they eat in a day, or roughly what they'll finish in 20 minutes. That's the rule of thumb from Oregon State.
- We'd give scratch in the afternoon, once they've had their fill at the feeder.
- Good extras include leafy greens, vegetable trimmings, pumpkin and squash, and a few mealworms.
- Leave out anything moldy or rotting, grass clippings from a lawn that's been sprayed, and strong-flavored scraps like onions, which can flavor the eggs.
Pale yolks are about color, not quality
Yolk color comes from natural pigments in what a hen eats: greens, flowers, bugs and some seeds and vegetables. Hens out on fresh grass tend to lay deep orange yolks, and Oregon State notes that greens help keep yolks that color.
That's why yolks often go paler in winter. The feed hasn't changed, but the run has: the greens, flowers and bugs are gone. A pale yolk isn't a worse egg. If you love a golden one, though, you can put some of that color back.
- Throw in leafy greens when the run is bare.
- Add a feed topper made with ingredients like calendula (marigold), turmeric, carrot and pumpkin, which carry natural yellow and orange pigments.
Fewer eggs in winter is mostly about daylight
Hens need around 14 to 16 hours of light a day to lay well, according to N.C. Cooperative Extension. When the days shorten in fall, laying slows down or stops, and no feed changes that. You can let your hens rest through winter, or put a light on a timer to stretch their day. Our guide to coop lighting covers the options. Either way, good feed keeps them in condition so they come back strong in spring.
Where a daily egg booster fits
Get the basics sorted first: layer feed, oyster shell, clean water and small treats. Once that's in place, a daily topper is an easy way to add what a bag of feed and a bare winter run can be short on.
Roosty's Gold Dust is a natural topper you sprinkle over the feed your hens already eat. It doesn't replace their feed. Calendula (marigold), turmeric, carrot, pumpkin and sunflower seeds are in there for yolk color, and flaxseed and calcium support stronger shells and omega-3 enriched eggs. Use two tablespoons per 3 to 5 hens, sprinkled on the feed every day.
Or, as Pamela L. put it in her review: "Chickens love this and their egg yolks super gold!"
It won't make a winter day any longer, and it isn't a treatment for a sick hen. It's a small daily habit for keepers who want more color in the yolks and a bit of extra support in the feed bowl. You can see the rest of our egg-laying range here.
When it isn't the feed
Call a poultry vet if a hen:
- keeps laying soft-shelled or shell-less eggs even with oyster shell available
- strains without passing an egg
- stops eating, or looks hunched and lethargic
- has a swollen belly
These can be signs of a health problem that feed changes won't fix.
Questions keepers ask
What is the best feed for laying hens?
A complete layer feed with about 16% protein and 3 to 4% calcium, as pellets, crumbles or mash, plus oyster shell in a separate dish.
How much should a laying hen eat a day?
Roughly a quarter to a third of a pound, or about 18 to 24 lb a week for 10 hens. Expect more in cold weather and less in hot weather.
Do hens need oyster shell if they already eat layer feed?
It's a good idea. Offer it free-choice in its own dish so each hen takes what she needs. It's especially useful if you're seeing thin or cracked shells.
When should pullets switch to layer feed?
When they start laying, usually around 20 weeks. Before that, the extra calcium in layer feed can harm growing birds.
Can I feed laying hens kitchen scraps?
Yes, in small amounts: about 10 to 15% of what they eat in a day, or what they'll finish in 20 minutes. Skip anything moldy or rotting, sprayed grass clippings, and strong flavors like onions.
Why are my hens' yolks pale?
Usually because they're getting fewer greens, flowers and bugs, which is common in winter. Leafy greens, or a topper with calendula (marigold), turmeric and carrot, can bring the color back.
