cayenne pepper

[castironcoopranch]

so this might old information but new too me. upon reading the information regarding the use of cayenne pepper to increase egg production in hens, the information that i was reading only stated "no significant increase in egg production". now what i want to know is this, is this study done on hens during the height of the laying season where it would seem to be insignificant due to the fact that hens are not going to lay more than one (1) egg per day. what i want to know is, was egg production increased in the winter or non-heightened time of the year when hens typically slow down in egg production? this i believe is what the question is or the backyard breeder is referring to. were the studies done during this time as well as i have not found where it is differentiated.
thanks

 

[azygous]

I have neither read about nor heard of studies being done on laying productivity using cayenne pepper, but I've tried it myself on my flock of layers and I found it made no difference whatsoever.

What it did do is release a lot of capsaicin dust particles into the already dusty sandy substrate in my run, and I was sneezing my head off with eyes watering pathetically for weeks until the potency dissipated.

It seems every winter we get someone posting "this will make your layers lay more and better than ever!" Most old timers here will tell you the same. If it appears to work, it's probably coincidental to the hens kicking their laying into higher gear quite on their own according to length of day and responding hormones.

 

[Perris]

hello @castironcoopranch ! welcome to BYC I tried it at start of season, to see if it would get all rather than just some of the flock laying. It didn't work.

 

[aart]

what i want to know is, was egg production increased in the winter or non-heightened time of the year when hens typically slow down in egg production?

Light is what kicks the system into production...even supplemental lighting might not increase/prolong production unless it's very carefully managed.