Extended laying in winter and how to stop eggs from freezing

[iananderson]

Hiya and happy new year to all.
Now I've always been a bit of a 'let 'em rest in the winter' kind of guy, but since our chooks stopped laying in October this year (and then moulted) and probably will not start again until March/April, I'm thinking that's a rather long holiday!

After they finished moulting and looked splendid again, I ordered a couple of LED small flood lights, thinking I'll fit them to come on in the morning to give them their 12 hours or so. All good so far. But then I'm thinking, if this works and does indeed induce some winter egg laying; how the heck-a-doodle do you stop the freshly laid eggs from freezing?

Heating the nestboxes seems fraught with problems, not least that my chickens are more like cats and will very quickly, I'm sure, cotton onto the fact that 'hey, it's warm and cozy in there' and never come out until spring!

Any advice?

(chooks are 4 to 5 years old and live in an unheated windproof coop in temps down to minus 20C or so. They have daylight access to a big run, but only come out to access the feeder or if they see us lol!).

 

[snoozing chick]

I’m in CT and we get freezing temps regularly, but a couple of my 12 chickens are still laying even without light. I just check the nest boxes regularly - usually early afternoon and then again late afternoon when I close them back up in their coop. The eggs come out so warm, it would take being left overnight before they froze. I’ve never had them lay at night after going to roost, so this works for us.

 

[RonP]

Heating the nestboxes seems fraught with problems, not least that my chickens are more like cats and will very quickly, I'm sure, cotton onto the fact that 'hey, it's warm and cozy in there' and never come out until spring!

I have been heating my nest boxes for over 4 years.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/heated-nesting-boxes-help-stop-frozen-eggs.67252/

Never had a problem with birds wanting to spend more time in the heated boxes.
Have not had a frozen egg since...

Your birds seem past optimum laying age at 4-5 years. This fact alone seems problematic for production.

Hope this helps.

 

[iananderson]

I have been heating my nest boxes for over 4 years.

Cool setup, that's definitely an option for us then.
Re the old hens. Yup, they still lay each week (in the summer), but I do worry about them living much longer. I hope the hard winters will stop them making it past 6 or 7.... Trouble is I'd get lynched by other family members if I suggested they go in the pot...

 

[WindingRoad]

Hiya and happy new year to all.
Now I've always been a bit of a 'let 'em rest in the winter' kind of guy, but since our chooks stopped laying in October this year (and then moulted) and probably will not start again until March/April, I'm thinking that's a rather long holiday!

After they finished moulting and looked splendid again, I ordered a couple of LED small flood lights, thinking I'll fit them to come on in the morning to give them their 12 hours or so. All good so far. But then I'm thinking, if this works and does indeed induce some winter egg laying; how the heck-a-doodle do you stop the freshly laid eggs from freezing?

Heating the nestboxes seems fraught with problems, not least that my chickens are more like cats and will very quickly, I'm sure, cotton onto the fact that 'hey, it's warm and cozy in there' and never come out until spring!

Any advice?

(chooks are 4 to 5 years old and live in an unheated windproof coop in temps down to minus 20C or so. They have daylight access to a big run, but only come out to access the feeder or if they see us lol!).

I have 4 chickens. BO, ISABrown second winter, 2 SLW first season laying. In the coop my small container of water doesn't freeze if the temps are in the 20's F or higher. The birds keep it warm. My hens lay primarily over night. If I get out there around 06:30 sometimes the egg is still very warm and wet even. Just laid. I check my birds about every 2 hours for water mostly and eggs. If I only have one egg in the morning I might get another before noon. If nothing by noon then I'm probably not gonna get anymore. My egg cycle is like this. Day One 2 eggs, Day 2 one egg. Day 3 maybe none. Then it recycles. I would say I get no eggs at least one day a week. SLW I think alternate days. ISA Brown lays most days and BO seems to have stopped. None of them molted this fall. SLW too young and IDK about the other 2.

 

[RonP]

My coop and run were sized to house around 24 birds.
A lot of thought went into the size and design prior to construction.
Their coop and run are predator proof. I do not stress.
I also do not cull.
All my birds produce something, some mostly compost and entertainment, which is valued far more than their eggs. They calm and make me smile.
I maintain around 12 girls, replacing the numbers that have passed during the previous year.
I do not heat the coop, but do the water supply and nesting boxes, see links in my signature.
I have a lighting system which mimics my summer solstice, 365 days per year.
The birds all still naturally molt.
I average 5-7 eggs daily, regardless of the season.
The vast majority of my flock now consists of hybrid production reds.
I have 1 bird now in her 14th year, 1 in her 13th year. Both remaining Heritage breeds.
They also produced a few eggs this past year...
The reds average 5-6 years before passing.

Hope this helps.