Are they black with white bars or white with black bars? – It’s the Zebra dilemma only for our beloved Barred Rock chooks!

Of course, as much as we love their unique plumage, the most important question in the eyes of any backyard chicken owner is how many eggs do they lay!?

Here we take you through absolutely everything you need to know about Barred Rock chicken’s egg laying, from when they start laying to how many eggs you can expect per hen!

Barred Rock Egg Laying Characteristics Summary

Considering adding Barred Rock chickens to your flock?

Here are the notable characteristics of the Barred Rock chicken’s eggs:

• Size Of The Eggs: Medium to large
• Color Of The Eggs: Brown/Light brown
• Egg Laying Frequency: Around 5 eggs per week on average!

So, you can expect every Barred Rock hen to lay around 250 eggs, medium-to-large-sized, brown eggs per year!

When Do Barred Rock Chickens Start Laying?

As eager as we can all get when it comes to waiting for our chicken’s first eggs, luckily you don’t need to wait long with Barred Rocks!

That’s because Barred Rock chickens mature relatively early compared to other chicken breeds, and will generally start producing eggs from as young as 4-5 months old!

In saying that, it can vary from hen to hen, and can depend on their environment, diet, and genetics too!

How Many Eggs Do Barred Rock Chickens Lay Per Year?

Every Barred Rock hen can lay between 200 to 300 eggs per year. This productive breed, at best, can produce a medium or large-sized egg every 25 hours – which is pushing the egg-laying cycle to its limit! 

Yup! What a machine.

It’s important to note though, that because of this rapid egg production, it’s important to provide your Barred Rocks with a high-protein diet with sufficient calcium (and other nutrients) to help maximize HEALTHY egg production.

When Do Barred Rock Chickens Stop Laying Eggs?

In exchange for the Barred Rock chicken’s high productivity during their peak years, they slow down in producing eggs earlier than most breeds. 

This is a reasonably common trend amongst high-production breeds – like Leghorns, Isa Brown, Golden Comets, etc.

What you’ll find is a Barred Rock hen will lay:

• First 2-3 Years: Between 200 – 300 eggs per year
• From 3-5 Years Old: Around 50 – 220 eggs per year 
• From 5-6 Years Old: About 150 eggs per year

After about 6 years old a Barred Rock’s egg laying will quite rapidly decrease, but many will still lay a few eggs a week on and off for the remainder of their lives.

Do Barred Rock Chickens Lay In Winter?

Many chicken owners become a bit worried that their chooks won’t keep up their egg production during the winter months due to the harsh cold temperatures.

Although this is a generalization and is somewhat true for almost any chicken breed, Barred Rock chickens are known to be very cold hardy, often being able to tolerate temperatures lower than 30°F!

You may experience a slight decrease in egg production due to the decrease in daylight and the desire to conserve energy in the cold – but Barred Rocks will continue to lay all through winter!

Quick Recap

The Barred Rock chicken’s outstanding reputation has withstood many years in history as the U.S.’s favorite chicken breed.

How could it not – particularly given its generous egg production, beautiful plumage, and hilarious personalities!

Of course, when it comes to their egg laying, you can expect each Barred Rock hen to lay around 5 eggs per week or about 250 eggs per year. Their eggs are medium-to-large in size and are brown to light brown in color.

They mature and lay eggs from as young as 4 months old, and have a good 3 years of excellent egg production before it slowly begins to taper off. They’ll even lay all through winter too!

If you’re considering raising Barred Rocks, you might also want to check out this guide to Barred Rock roosters!