I've read they wont start laying while the days are shorter. I live in Georgia, When is the latest a chicken will lay its first egg instead of waiting till january to lay it?
They most certainly WILL start laying while the days are shorter. They don't tend to lay AS MANY eggs when the days are shorter, but new pullets will often lay quite well over their first winter. One of my BO's laid her first egg Dec 26th - only 5 days after the shortest day of the year!
It's been a year this month when I first got my chickens, they didn't start laying their eggs until January and they've laid every couple of days with the short days. Granted, I didn't get an egg everyday but when March rolled around it was like they were fighting over the most popular nest box to lay their egg and then I got an egg everyday. I've noticed that they lay their eggs in the morning now instead of in the late afternoon due to the days getting shorter.
