Chick Rumor

[grasjm36]

A friend of mine told me that if I get chicks now and raise them.....that by winter they will be laying so my original flock can take a break and I can continue with my endless supply of eggs. Is it true they will lay in winter???

 

[Camelot Farms]

Nope. Probably not. Chickens rely on length of daylight to produce. Shorter days in the winter = less production. Sure, they will still occasionally lay an egg but sometimes we go weeks without any.
So if you have more chickens, you will get a few more eggs than you would without the new ones but not enough to make a big difference.

But dont let that steer you away from getting more chicks!!

 

[chubbydog811]

Depends on the breed, and your set up...My bantams stopped laying as soon as it got cold last year (they had just started laying a few weeks before that), where as my Leghorns and Sexlinks layed strong all winter. My birds are also in green house like coops - clear plastic roofing, and the coops are insultated and draft free.

Hope that answered what you were looking for.

 

[Katy]

If they are just beginning to lay in the fall they are more likely to continue laying thru the winter despite the shorter days. Isn't true across the board, but it is true to some extent. That is what I do....keep rotating new pullets in and so I pretty much always am getting eggs, no matter the season.

 

[grasjm36]

So is it harmful then to leave the lights on all winter (like a red light) for heat AND light for production? I know its only going to be summer but I dont know if I want chicks right now. (well of course i want them)

I dont want to stress my layers out, they deserve a break. But I am developing a pretty good customer ring right now.

 

[lottastuff9]

I agree with chubbydog811, it depends on your set up. If you have a timer on a light source(or you feel like getting up and turning it on) so that they "see" that the sun has risen you are in essence creating a longer day, thus your eggs should continue. I don't know how that would apply if you had a clear coop though.

 

[NeeleysAVLChicks]

Quote:
That's very interesting and now that I think about it in that way, that's exactly what happened to me last year. My pullets that started laying spring to mid-summer slowed down more significantly during the winter last year than my later girls that started laying closer to winter. Hmmm, interesting...

 

[Spookwriter]

Our RRR and Leghorns produced steadily all winter long.
Ohio, didn't consider it a real bad winter.

Unheated coop unless it went below 30 degree outside.
Coop is solid, draft free. Windows on two sides that open
for venting.

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
The red light is only for heat. Chickens need natural or white light for production.

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

I want to SEE that greenhouse coop! I got new chicks last spring, and they were old enough to lay by fall, but with the decreases sunlight they didn't start to lay until MARCH! so 10-11 months old. YEESH. DH was ready to FREAK out... feeding all them for a year and no eggs! so this year I got mine beginning of April, instead of beginning of may, hoping to trick a few into starting laying... and maybe keeping going. It also depends on the breed. my 2 young chanteclers didn't lay in the winter months, but this year I got a pair of anconas, so here's hoping!