2.5 kg5.51 lb
A medium-sized hen weighs about 2.5 kg (5.5 lb), but breed makes a big difference. The hybrids that lay most supermarket eggs are lighter, about 1.6 to 2 kg (3.5 to 4.4 lb), while a Rhode Island Red hen should reach about 3 kg (6.6 lb) and a Jersey Giant hen 4.5 kg (10 lb).
| Jersey Giant henStandard weight 10 lb | 4.5 kg9.92 lb |
|---|---|
| Rhode Island Red henStandard weight for the breed | 3 kg6.61 lb |
| Hy-Line Brown laying henCommercial brown-egg layer at 70 weeks, target 1,954 to 2,066 g | 2 kg4.41 lb |
| Hy-Line W-36 laying henCommercial white-egg layer at 70 weeks, target 1,550 to 1,610 g | 1.58 kg3.48 lb |
| Rhode Island Red bantam henMiniature version, standard weight 30 oz | 850 g1.87 lb |
There is no single answer, because chickens have been bred for very different jobs. Breeds kept for eggs alone are small and light, breeds kept for meat are heavy, and the old “dual-purpose” breeds that did both sit in between. Our figure of 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) is a hen in that middle ground.
At the light end are the commercial hybrids. Hy-Line, one of the largest suppliers of laying hens, sets a target of about 2 kg (4.4 lb) for its Hy-Line Brown hen and 1.55 to 1.61 kg for its white-egg W-36. At the heavy end, a Rhode Island Red hen has a standard weight of about 3 kg (6.6 lb), and the Jersey Giant, bred in New Jersey in the late 1800s as a possible replacement for the turkey, has a standard hen weight of 10 lb (4.5 kg).
A modern laying hen grows fast and then stops. In Hy-Line’s December 2025 guide, a Hy-Line Brown pullet weighs about 1.4 kg at 17 weeks, 1.8 to 1.9 kg at 26 weeks, and levels off at about 2 kg from around 50 weeks on. She eats 110 to 118 g of feed a day while laying.
From 18 to 70 weeks old, which is one year of laying, the guide expects about 314 to 333 eggs per hen, weighing 19 to 20 kg (42 to 45 lb) in total. That is nearly ten times her body weight. The lighter W-36 lays 18.2 to 19.5 kg of eggs over the same year, about twelve times her own weight.
With rounder numbers, 300 eggs at about 60 g each is 18 kg, and 18 ÷ 2.5 = 7.2, so a 2.5 kg hen lays roughly seven times her weight. Heritage breeds lay fewer eggs, about 200 to 300 a year for a Rhode Island Red and 150 to 200 for a Jersey Giant.
Chickens raised for meat, called broilers, are bred to grow as fast as possible. According to the National Chicken Council, the average US broiler in 2025 went to market at 47.5 days old weighing 6.63 lb (3.0 kg) live. In 1925 a broiler took 112 days to reach 2.5 lb (1.1 kg).
Roosters are heavier than hens of the same breed. A Rhode Island Red cock has a standard weight of 3.9 kg (8.6 lb), and a Jersey Giant cock 13 lb (5.9 kg).
A medium-sized hen weighs about 5.5 lb (2.5 kg). Commercial laying hens weigh about 3.5 to 4.4 lb, while large breeds like the Jersey Giant reach 10 lb for a hen and 13 lb for a rooster.
In 2025 the average US broiler weighed 6.63 lb (3.0 kg) live when it went to market at about 47 days old, according to the National Chicken Council.
A modern commercial hen lays a little over 300 eggs in her first year of laying, while heritage breeds lay about 150 to 300. The record, according to Guinness World Records, is 371 eggs in 364 days by a White Leghorn at the University of Missouri in 1979.
In the US, a dozen Large eggs must weigh at least 24 oz, which is 56.8 g (2 oz) per egg. In the EU, a Large egg weighs 63 to 73 g.
A newly hatched chick weighs about 37 g (1.3 oz), whatever its breed.
Last checked October 2, 2026.
