chickens laying despite the cold

[barefootfarmgal]

I live in ontario canada, and its bitterly cold. (-20 f!) My chickens stopped laying pribably 2 months ago....however 5 days ago I found an egg. And every morning since there has been another. And then this morning there was 2!! What the heck? We are using a heat lamp to keep them wsrm, it isnt overly warm though. Its got a red bulb, could that be enough light to stimulate egg production? Im definitely not complaining, but I also dont want to be causing my girls extra stress. I am quite happy to keep them warm and fed and happy, eggs or no eggs.

 

[WinterChicks]

Probably the lamp- It's like sunlight

Here is an idea I read somewhere:

After the molt keep the heat lamp off for 2 weeks to 1 month for the hens break then turn it back on to get egggs.

Both parties are happy!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Whether heat is required or not is a different topic. But what it sounds like is that those chickens have finished the molt. In the wild they would not start laying again until the days warmed up and got longer, but they have been domesticated. While some will still wait for longer days and warmer weather, others now start laying when they are over the molt. They are obviously eating well enough to lay regularly. The light may be stimulating them but not all hens need that to return to production after the molt.

I know my nights are not as long as yours right now, but I don’t supplement the lights and most of my hens start laying when they finish the molt regardless of how long the nights are. Most of them, not all.

 

[donrae]

Temp really doesn't effect laying so much. What you're seeing is the effect of longer daylight hours. Since we passed solstice at the end of December, my laying flock has picked up nicely. It's only going to get better from here on out.