Topic of the Week - Winter Egg Laying

[icanhazchikn]

Thank you for the explanation. For you with 20,605 posts you clearly know a lot about chickens.
I'm very new to the site and have trouble searching it, and have never raised chickens before. I grew up in apartments
and have never had enough land to raise any kind of farm animal before this past year.

I got them in February as babies and they didn't start laying until just a couple of months before it got cold and then everything slowed
down, but for those couple of months we were getting a lot of eggs. I saw this topic was about Winter Egg Laying so felt it was okay to ask
my question here. Apparently it wasn't.

Your explanation was very helpful even if it wasn't friendly or welcoming to a new member.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Apparently it wasn't.

Your explanation was very helpful even if it wasn't friendly or welcoming to a new member.

It absolutely was fine to ask here, and I saw nothing hostile in Chicken Canoe's response.

Questions on this forum are very seasonal in nature. Every fall/winter is why aren't my chickens laying or when will my pullets start laying. Around February each year, it's about consequences of ordering chicks too soon. (many don't make it if there is a cold snap or they get lost in the mail) Spring has questions about hatching, chick rearing, sexing birds, etc. Summer is pecking order changes, excitement over getting first eggs, lice/mite maintenance. All year long is emergencies or disease questions. If you have been here long enough, sometimes answering the same questions over and over again can get a bit tedious. It's not meant to be anything against you, just so many of the same types of questions year after year.

So jump in and ask away. Use the search feature, and enjoy the forum here. There are a ton of valuable resources here for those just entering the poultry world.

 

[aart]

Quote: Indeed it does, especially when the answer is already in the same thread that obviously hasn't been read thru.

 

[BYC910]

Indeed it does, especially when the answer is already in the same thread that obviously hasn't been read thru.

It is to say the least intimidating as to the shear mass of old and I mean really old posts on the BYC . When a guest or beginner like I was and many other who guest on the BYC click any thread as a guest and you get the very first post . I just happened to encounter a member who explained it to me how it worked . Otherwise I would've never joined . Clicks and curtness run rampant through the BYC.Now I have no problem with this except when it comes to new members . We must understand that they came here looking for answers. and most of the time have to wade through mountains of post before they find the answer to their question . Perhaps many of you were born geniuses but the average person wasn't . You were once as they are now MAYBE OR MAYBE not . And if your sick of answering the same Question don't answer it . Let a more courteous person do it . Now I will see If I can Find My Tennessee Brother and apologize to him because he was surely offended .

 

[GOTchickens1978]

I found it very rude myself. It's true new members with questions often get an obnoxious, frustrated reply from a more experienced chicken keeper. It just happened to me last week. I agree if you're sick of seeing these repetitive questions, then just don't reply.

 

[icanhazchikn]

I did try the search feature and was trying to find results, but it doesn't work well for me or I don't know how to use it.
I came to this thread and started going through it but there were 14 pages of results. I work a full time job, am a single dad and have a lot
going on with my kids, in addition to trying to take care of a house and chickens.

I could have read through all 14 pages but didn't think it would hurt to go to the end and ask my question.
I'm not trying to cause problems or drama, I just wanted to understand why even if it's been so warm out lately (70 degrees for two weeks) that
they wouldn't lay. I know very little about them, and would never have guessed that it's all based on how much sunlight there is each day.
The person who answered had a good explanation, but I didn't appreciate the tone of the reply when I'm brand new here and don't know much of how
this site works.

I love my chickens and want to do a good job raising them, even if I'm new at it. We started out with 8 last February and are down to 4 now,
but luckily none have died recently. I think it's amazing how just four chickens could fill a standard egg carton in just a couple of days when it was
summer/fall. Thank you for your help, I appreciate it.

Dave

 

[RonP]

I did try the search feature and was trying to find results, but it doesn't work well for me or I don't know how to use it.
I came to this thread and started going through it but there were 14 pages of results. I work a full time job, am a single dad and have a lot
going on with my kids, in addition to trying to take care of a house and chickens.

I could have read through all 14 pages but didn't think it would hurt to go to the end and ask my question.
I'm not trying to cause problems or drama, I just wanted to understand why even if it's been so warm out lately (70 degrees for two weeks) that
they wouldn't lay. I know very little about them, and would never have guessed that it's all based on how much sunlight there is each day.
The person who answered had a good explanation, but I didn't appreciate the tone of the reply when I'm brand new here and don't know much of how
this site works.

I love my chickens and want to do a good job raising them, even if I'm new at it. We started out with 8 last February and are down to 4 now,
but luckily none have died recently. I think it's amazing how just four chickens could fill a standard egg carton in just a couple of days when it was
summer/fall. Thank you for your help, I appreciate it.

Dave

Hi Dave,

Welcome to BYC.

Here is an informative thread, not too long, about a probable cause of your birds not laying during the winter season.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1127500/winter-lighting

Hope it helps.

 

[RonP]

- Do or don't you supplement light to keep your hens in production over winter?
- Are there other ways to ensure your flock stays productive, for example by replenishing the layers with young hens yearly?
- What do you do to prevent the eggs from freezing in the nest boxes, especially the folks that can't collect them in a timely manner.
- Tips for keeping winter layers happy and healthy?

Lighting questions often come up.

Posted this on other threads, hope it helps:

There are a lot of opinions on supplementing light to keep the chickens laying during time period where there is less than 12-14 hours of available daylight.

My coop gets ~16 hours of light now 365 days per year.
My birds seem to molt regardless.

Having had to install electricity for the thermostatically controlled water heater, I took advantage and installed a lighting system.

My system has two timers. The first is set to turn the lights on at 5am, off at 9pm.
This timer also is used as the to power my heated nest boxes when called for.
For the lights, timer goes on, power passes through a photocell, then to a 300 lumen LED bulb, 4.8 watts, in the coop, and 2 - 4.8 watt LEDs for the outside run.
These bulbs are considered warm, around 3000k, which my research lends me to believe are best suited for stimulating the pineal gland.
I light the outdoor run because I found the birds huddled outside the coop door in the dark one 5:30am morning...
They have access to the run 24/7, as it is as secure as the coop.

The lights are on only when it is dark enough outside to be necessary (photocell).
The time on very closely mimics my Summer Solstice.

The second timer is set to go on at 8:30pm, off at 9:30pm, a diffused 200 lumen LED 4 watt bulb.
This low light allows the birds to settle in before all lights out.

I have used this method for a few years now, works well, some of my flock members are >9 years old now... all seem happy and unstressed.

This system costs less than $10 per year to operate.


My coop was designed to hold ~25 to 30 birds comfortably.

I started with 6, and add 2 or 3 per year for egg production. I gift 90% of my eggs.

I do not cull... these are "pets" that produce compost, my main objective.
I currently have a dozen or so birds, I started replacing heritage breeds with hybrids, they do not seem to have the same life expectancy as the heritage breeds. My numbers have never exceeded 15.


I have not had to deal with frozen eggs in years...
Heat the nesting boxes to stop eggs from freezing.


I have not had to deal with frozen water in years...
Forever Water Heater one that lasts.
Unfrozen Nipple Watering for those cold days.


I do nothing for winter preparation, everything is on autopilot

 

[BYC910]

Lighting questions often come up.

Posted this on other threads, hope it helps:

There are a lot of opinions on supplementing light to keep the chickens laying during time period where there is less than 12-14 hours of available daylight.

My coop gets ~16 hours of light now 365 days per year.
My birds seem to molt regardless.

Having had to install electricity for the thermostatically controlled water heater, I took advantage and installed a lighting system.

My system has two timers. The first is set to turn the lights on at 5am, off at 9pm.
This timer also is used as the to power my heated nest boxes when called for.
For the lights, timer goes on, power passes through a photocell, then to a 300 lumen LED bulb, 4.8 watts, in the coop, and 2 - 4.8 watt LEDs for the outside run.
These bulbs are considered warm, around 3000k, which my research lends me to believe are best suited for stimulating the pineal gland.
I light the outdoor run because I found the birds huddled outside the coop door in the dark one 5:30am morning...
They have access to the run 24/7, as it is as secure as the coop.

The lights are on only when it is dark enough outside to be necessary (photocell).
The time on very closely mimics my Summer Solstice.

The second timer is set to go on at 8:30pm, off at 9:30pm, a diffused 200 lumen LED 4 watt bulb.
This low light allows the birds to settle in before all lights out.

I have used this method for a few years now, works well, some of my flock members are >9 years old now... all seem happy and unstressed.

This system costs less than $10 per year to operate.


My coop was designed to hold ~25 to 30 birds comfortably.

I started with 6, and add 2 or 3 per year for egg production. I gift 90% of my eggs.

I do not cull... these are "pets" that produce compost, my main objective.
I currently have a dozen or so birds, I started replacing heritage breeds with hybrides, they do not seem to have the same life expectancy as the heritage breeds. My numbers have never exceeded 15.


I have not had to deal with frozen eggs in years...
Heat the nesting boxes to stop eggs from freezing.


I have not had to deal with frozen water in years...
Forever Water Heater one that lasts.
Unfrozen Nipple Watering for those cold days.


I do nothing for winter preparation, everything is on autopilot

Only question is has this system improved winter egg production ? I'm impressed with your setup also your detailed description of it . Thank you for sharing

 

[RonP]

Only question is has this system improved winter egg production ? I'm impressed with your setup also your detailed description of it . Thank you for sharing

I cannot answer that.

I do not see any drastic seasonal changes.

Every year when the 2 or 3 new pullets start laying, early Summer, I see the drastic increase in egg production of course.

I then see a slow decrease as the older layers lay fewer... then, new pullets!

I can tell you that I have kept a detailed diary of daily egg production for the last 9 years.

That said, my yearly average with about a dozen birds has been just under 1900 eggs per year.

Winter egg production is the same as Spring production, declining slowly.