I have had my ten runners for a year, now, and they seem to be on their own rhythm. I did find that keeping them above 40F greatly improved their laying. But there are some hormonal, seasonal changes, too. They lived outdoors 24/7, but I noticed in the late fall they were not doing well - shivering, walking around hunched over, lacking zest. They gave us 3 eggs a day at that point, down from 10 a day in the summer. I brought them into the basement at night, and on the worst weather days. They gave me 8 or 9 eggs a day from November through January. Then they started tapering off to 5 or 6, then a couple went broody, now I get 4 or 5. And that is fine with me - it is one reason I have ten runners. They can take turns, take some rest. They get some artificial light in the winter, since they are in my basement. It's not to make them lay, it's so I can see my way around and do things down there!
