? about my chicken laying egg's and getting cold

[rgearhead]

I'm new to chickens , and this will be mines first winter here out side Chicago.. the oldest one was laying for almost two months till the temp here has dropped to 50ish during the day and 30s at night, well she stopped laying egg's since this cold set in...and am wondering when she will return to laying, there is only 2 chickens in the coop and run as of now, they sure look healthy and big..

the one that was laying and stopped is an astrolorp and she is with a little younger bantam Brahm that is yet to lay her first egg..

so what is the norm ??

thanks for input...

 

[faykokoWV]

I'm new to chickens , and this will be mines first winter here out side Chicago.. the oldest one was laying for almost two months till the temp here has dropped to 50ish during the day and 30s at night, well she stopped laying egg's since this cold set in...and am wondering when she will return to laying, there is only 2 chickens in the coop and run as of now, they sure look healthy and big..

the one that was laying and stopped is an astrolorp and she is with a little younger bantam Brahm that is yet to lay her first egg..

so what is the norm ??

thanks for input...

they are genetically programmed to stop laying during the winter since its not a good time to have babies. Breeding has reduced this somewhat, but some breeds are more likely to stop over the winter. A production type hen is more likely to lay through the winter. You can try adding a light that comes on early in the morning (5 am) trick her little brain into thinking the days are longer. The younger one may not lay until spring.

 

[rgearhead]

thanks for the info ....i will be adding 2 ten week old Isabrowns to the coop next week...will see how it goes...

Hmmm wonder who will be boss between the Isa browns and the atrolorp and a Bantam brawhn...

thanks again,

 

[faykokoWV]

adding them at night seems to help, a lot of the fighting is over roost space in the evenings. I'd also recommend never add just one birds at a time, so glad to see you are adding 2

 

[centrarchid]

Laying eggs, growing, replacing feathers during molt and staying warm all compete for energy and nutrition in general. Normally staying warm get first dibs while laying eggs gets last. When birds are small like bantams, staying warm is more difficult. Also some breeds have been selected to give near year round egg production but bantam breeds generally are not among that select group. To promote egg production during winter you can reduce cold stress by reducing exposure to cold wind and increase photoperiod to simulate springtime lighting conditions. Energy intake in diet can also be bumped but be careful not to do so at expense of key nutrients like protein, vitamins and minerals. When temps get really cold I like to supplement the quality laying feed for a mixture of scratch grains and sunflower seeds. Make so birds have adequate grit.

 

[Smoochie]

Lots of chickens do not lay eggs in the winter and it's normal.