Every figure on this page is the template's own, an extension estimate and not a measurement of any farm. Your own hours and harvests calibrate it once you log them.
Where the numbers come from
- MO · University of Missouri Extension, Mobile Laying Hen Planning Budget (G741), 2025 primary
- MD · University of Maryland Extension, Small Flock Layer Budget - 100, 2022
- KY · University of Kentucky, Department of Agricultural Economics, Pastured Based Laying Hens Decision Aid, 2017
Figured at 60 hens, the size of operation the primary source describes. Full production from the first season.
Hours by week
60 hens of Laying hens in 2026, week by week. The dashed line is 40 hours, one person's week. The busiest week holds 6 h (Jan 12 to Jan 18).
Weeks that cannot move
Biology or a booking sets these; nothing can reschedule them.
- Daily chores (feed, water, collect): all year
Where it lands on a mixed farm
Each pair of templates is run together on a made-up farm of one person at 40 hours, the way Farm Draft runs a plan. A week is listed when the scheduler finds work that cannot move, at least 8 hours from each, adding up to more than 40. The weeks are computed, not written: change a template and they change.
No other built-in template puts 8 hours of fixed work in a week this one does, enough to pass 40 hours with it, at the sizes their sources describe.
Not checked, because their sources state no size of operation: Cut flowers (bunches, direct), Hair sheep (pasture lambs), Pastured feeder pigs (whole and half hogs), Stocker cattle (summer grazing).
Tasks
| Task | Hours fixed | Hours per hen | When | Rigidity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily chores (feed, water, collect) | 0.35 h | 0.001 h a hen | daily, Jan 1 to Dec 31 | Fixed |
| Egg wash and pack | 1.5 h | 0.01 h a hen | weekly, Jan 1 to Dec 31 | Flexible, 2 days |
| Coop clean-out | 1.5 h | — | every 14 days, Jan 1 to Dec 31 | Floating |
Costs
| Line | Amount | Schedule F |
|---|---|---|
| Feed (1.75 lb/hen/week) | $0.52 a hen | Feed |
Revenue
| Line | Price | Yield | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eggs | $5.00 a dozen | 0.3 dozens a hen | 1 dozen a dozen |
Farm Draft records the tax category of each line and leaves the choice of treatment to your CPA.
Run it on your own farm
Add Laying hens next to the rest of what you grow and raise. Farm Draft puts every enterprise in one weekly calendar against the hours you actually have and names the week they collide.
The other templates
- Beef cow-calf
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Cut flowers (bunches, direct)
- Hair sheep (pasture lambs)
- Hay (tall fescue, custom baled)
- Honeybees
- Market garden (mixed vegetables)
- Meat goats (pasture and browse)
- Orchard (apple and pear, semi-dwarf)
- Pastured broilers
- Pastured feeder pigs (whole and half hogs)
- Pick-your-own and event days
- Raspberries
- Stocker cattle (summer grazing)