What triggers hens to start laying again? Super cold weather here!

[Grammie Has Chickens]

My four young hens stopped laying about a month or so ago, and then, when the temperatures have dropped to -25C, I found an egg in the nest box! And four more in the sandbox (two were frozen / cracked). That was a few days ago and I've been getting 2 eggs a day since. The days are starting to get a bit longer, but are still only a little over 10 hours of daylight and I'm not really adding more than a half hour to that with lighting.

So...what caused them to start laying again? Curious mind would like to know! Also, is it ok / healthy for them to be laying when the weather is so cold? They are only little hens (silkies, silkie/D'uccle cross).

I've been spoiling them with a few 'super worms' I bought at the pet store, and the occasional bit of home grown fodder. Other than that, they have their feed and access to a bowl of oyster shell/grit and a dish of crushed egg shell

Chickens are such interesting creatures! I just want to make sure that I am doing all I can to make sure my little 'Chicklets' are happy and healthy!

 

[sourland]

It's all about the day light period and age of birds. Younger birds will start laying on shorter day light periods as they are increasing. Older birds take longer day light periods to be 'triggered'.

 

[NatJ]

Also, is it ok / healthy for them to be laying when the weather is so cold?

I don't think egg laying has any effect on how they handle the cold, as long as they have enough food and water.

Of course, it can be difficult to keep them supplied with liquid water in cold weather.

 

[Ann With A Plan]

I don't think egg laying has any effect on how they handle the cold, as long as they have enough food and water.

Of course, it can be difficult to keep them supplied with liquid water in cold weather.

I was curious about that myself. When I was getting my latest batch of straw from my feed guy/hatchery, I asked him. He said not only the number of daylight hours, but the cold can affect them sometimes. He said Their bodies are using the energy to stay warm, so giving them extra feed can help. Thought it made sense to me, but what do I know.

 

[NatJ]

I was curious about that myself. When I was getting my latest batch of straw from my feed guy/hatchery, I asked him. He said not only the number of daylight hours, but the cold can affect them sometimes. He said Their bodies are using the energy to stay warm, so giving them extra feed can help. Thought it made sense to me, but what do I know.

I usually assume free-choice feed, so they can give themselves "extra" if needed.

But I know that chickens won't eat much when they are thirsty, so I think un-frozen water is usually the biggest issue. When the water gets iced over, they cannot drink and will not eat, and of course that can lower the egg production.

I like to give wet chicken food once or twice a day in cold weather, because that way they will gobble it down fast and get a cropful of both food & water before it has time to freeze. And then I provide fresh water at least twice a day as well, and leave dry feed always available.

 

[Ann With A Plan]

I usually assume free-choice feed, so they can give themselves "extra" if needed.

But I know that chickens won't eat much when they are thirsty, so I think un-frozen water is usually the biggest issue. When the water gets iced over, they cannot drink and will not eat, and of course that can lower the egg production.

I like to give wet chicken food once or twice a day in cold weather, because that way they will gobble it down fast and get a cropful of both food & water before it has time to freeze. And then I provide fresh water at least twice a day as well, and leave dry feed always available.

Hmm, yeah I didn't know about them not eating if no water. That makes sense, too. Thanks. I've been giving them warm wet food at night when I put them up and they love it. I've been getting anywhere between 8-10 a day (out of 12) this month. They have access to dry food inside their coop along with the water. We don't get too many freezing days/nights here, but when we have I'd defrost their water with hot water in the mornings.
The guy also said that they really need access to the grit and if they don't get it, it can also affect the egg laying.

 

[Offshoreorca]

A super cold spell that comes in quickly can lead to a small drop in egg production from my experience (as the chickens adjust to dealing with the cold), but I have had many pullets/hens start laying during this period as well. It's more about the day light as mentioned above, and of course, good nutrition, access to water at all times, etc.

 

[Ridgerunner]

So...what caused them to start laying again? Curious mind would like to know! Also, is it ok / healthy for them to be laying when the weather is so cold? They are only little hens (silkies, silkie/D'uccle cross).

Before they were domesticated chickens followed a certain pattern. They'd lay a few eggs, hatch and raise them, and then do it again in the good weather months. When the days got shorter in the fall indicating harsh conditions were on the way they'd stop laying eggs and hatching them and use what nutrition they could find to replace worn out feathers. When the longer days of spring indicated better weather was on the way they'd start the cycle again. Length of day wasn't the trigger, it was the s=days getting shorter or longer.

But we domesticated them and bred them to suit our needs and desires. They now lay a lot more eggs and go broody less often. All that through selective breeding. We also feed them pretty darn well in the bad weather months and house them to protect them from the worst of the weather.

They still follow the basic cycle unless we mess with lighting and such as far as when they molt, But with selective breeding and how they are fed and housed they are are much more likely to lay in the "bad weather" months. While yours are decorative as opposed to production breeds they still have had their laying habits affected by selective breeding.

To lay eggs they need to eat enough to take care of body functions and maintenance, and then have enough in reserve to make an egg. Before a hen starts laying she needs to build up an excess of fat, this fat is what a broody hen lives off of when she is incubating eggs. I've butchered enough pullets and hens and enough cockerels and roosters to see how much more fat a hen has. In the winter part of that requirement is met by you feeding them regularly. They usually don't lack for quantity or quality of feed, not like they would f they were living wild and free and trying to find enough to eat in winter. Length of day plays a part of this. They need for the day to be long enough so they can eat enough. The higher the quality of your feed the shorter that day needs to be. That's probably why yours and mine lay when the days are only 10 hours long, the quality of the feed and it always being available fulfills that need.

As far as I'm concerned, if they are laying eggs in winter they are eating enough to stay healthy. If they were not they would not be laying.

 

[Grammie Has Chickens]

It's all about the day light period and age of birds. Younger birds will start laying on shorter day light periods as they are increasing. Older birds take longer day light periods to be 'triggered'.

Thank you for that information. I thought I'd read somewhere that 12+ hours a day was required, but maybe that was just an average amount

 

[Grammie Has Chickens]

I usually assume free-choice feed, so they can give themselves "extra" if needed.

But I know that chickens won't eat much when they are thirsty, so I think un-frozen water is usually the biggest issue. When the water gets iced over, they cannot drink and will not eat, and of course that can lower the egg production.

I like to give wet chicken food once or twice a day in cold weather, because that way they will gobble it down fast and get a cropful of both food & water before it has time to freeze. And then I provide fresh water at least twice a day as well, and leave dry feed always available.

I make my girls a hot cereal in the morning... 3 scoops of feed, a scoop of oatmeal, add water to make it somewhat liquid-y and microwave for 30 seconds. Stirred well so there are no hot spots and they come running down the ladder and gobble it all up. I also keep their dry feeder stocked and have a small heated waterer which so far has been ok as long as I keep the door to the sheltered area closed.