This will be our first winter with our own chickens and we have OEGB(fairly certain) and one silkie(positive), so I was wondering how these breeds fair with winter laying. Will they slow down or just not lay at all. I know they aren't heavy layers but most days we get two to three eggs from our three little hens. Just curious as to what others winter experiences have been. Thanks, Jody
My silkies and standards pretty much laid decent till october when the days got too short. They slowed, but never really stopped. The old girls 3+ were scarce, and took a month off to moult.
Like most breeds of poultry, your birds should slow down laying as the days get shorter and temps drop. You'll likely start to see an increase in laying sometime in Feb, as days start to get longer again. A good idea is to keep an egg log, by breed if you can. That will allow you to track their production. It's also good to keep track of things as a sudden drop in laying can indicate illness or parasites, which you can then treat early.
Thanks for the responses. I knew they would slow down just wondered how much, I'm glad to hear will still be getting some eggs. I also didn't realize they'd start picking up laying so soon, that's great. Thanks again. Jody
When I had OEGBs, mine were good layers. I got about 5 eggs per week from each hen, even in the winter. I live in Georgia so I don't know if that makes a difference or not.
I live in Hawaii where the temp year round is mid 80's day and mid 60's night. I have Silkie chicks who are only a bit over one week old. Anyone know what their "laying cycle" be like? How do I give them a rest ,or do they not need to come off laying eggs for food household consumption?
