Any suggestions how to make my hens lay in the winter

[pefferlawchicken]

I was wondering if there was any tips or tricks on how to make my hens start laying trough the winter.

I ahve a small ehater going so its not to coold but its no warm eaiter and i have a 60 watt balb going most of the day. I feed them layer crubles grapes and a little bread everyday along with warm water.
and suggestions ?

 

[dacjohns]

It is said that they need 14 hours of light a day.

Check the amount of time they have light and maybe up the amount of light they are getting.

Were they laying and stopped when the days got shorter or have they even started laying yet?
Are they molting or did they just finish a molt?

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

I would up the light (if you haven't already) to a minimum of 16 hours. They should have enough light so you can read. We use a low watage bulb on a timer. Ours turns on at 4am and off during daylight hours, then turns back on until 10 pm.
I would also up their protein, this time of year hens use up a lot of energy staying warm.

 

[pefferlawchicken]

yes uping the light sounds good , and yes they already were laying but stopped because of the less daylight , this should work , thank you

 

[write2caroline]

Short of moving them closer to the equator, I think you can do the light thing and up the protein. I wish I knew
Caroline

 

[gsim]

What breed or breeds do you have? That and their age and diet are likely to have more to do with it than anything. Calf-Manna is mentioned on this forum quite a bit for kick-starting them after molting. It has a high protein content. So do beans and lentils.

I would try that before the artificial light. They do need their natural rest during cold season/shorter days. Also try taking them really warm water at least twice a day. I have seen that on a post on this forum and it had good results reported.