Do they stop singing the egg song at some point?

[EmmaDonovan]

We get very few eggs these days, 0-3 per day from 12 hens, all 21 months old. Sometimes they eat the eggs before we can get outside to collect them (there's no reason for them to do that, they have plenty of feed and protein and treats and oyster shell, lots of space and clutter in the run). They did not slow down like this last year. Note we're in the desert and still have 10+ hours of sunlight each day.

I listen for the egg song but no one sings it anymore. Is there some reason they've stopped singing it?

 

[tlcmurphy]

Pullets will lay through their first winter, but after that they’ll take a laycation during the winter due to shorter days (has nothing to do with temperature). They’ll come back online as we head into spring, usually Feb-March.

 

[notabitail]

Highly recommend reading these on the topic of the "egg song".

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...r-people-the-egg-song-why-do-hens-sing.75323/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-not-about-the-egg-it’s-an-escort-call.74386/

 

[tlcmurphy]

Highly recommend reading these on the topic of the "egg song".

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...r-people-the-egg-song-why-do-hens-sing.75323/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-egg-song-it’s-not-about-the-egg-it’s-an-escort-call.74386/

Yes, especially @Shadrach article, really made sense to me!

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Pullets will lay through their first winter, but after that they’ll take a laycation during the winter due to shorter days (has nothing to do with temperature). They’ll come back online as we head into spring, usually Feb-March.

Your latitude isn't that different from ours (Atlanta = 33.748188° N, Tucson = 32.222216° N). Do you lose many sunlight hours in the winter? At most in summer we have 14 hours of sunlight, the least we have in winter is 10 hours.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Highly recommend reading these on the topic of the "egg song".

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...r-people-the-egg-song-why-do-hens-sing.75323/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-egg-song-it’s-not-about-the-egg-it’s-an-escort-call.74386/

Great articles, thanks! We've never had a rooster, although one of our white leghorn hens thinks she's a rooster.

I'm still not sure why everyone would stop the egg song even for the few times they still (sometimes) lay? I miss it.

 

[notabitail]

Great articles, thanks! We've never had a rooster, although one of our white leghorn hens thinks she's a rooster.

I'm still not sure why everyone would stop the egg song even for the few eggs they still (sometimes) lay?

Mine don't always do the call. They used to do it when I was able to have them loose in the yard all day, but it's less frequent since they figured out I don't show up anymore.

 

[tlcmurphy]

Your latitude isn't that different from ours (Atlanta = 33.748188° N, Tucson = 32.222216° N). Do you lose many sunlight hours in the winter? At most in summer we have 14 hours of sunlight, the least we have in winter is 10 hours.

We are also at 10 hours of daylight in the winter, but that’s enough to turn off the egg laying

 

[Perris]

I listen for the egg song but no one sings it anymore. Is there some reason they've stopped singing it?

Because it is a request for an escort to come and take them back to wherever the flock is; it is not a 'hey I've laid an egg' call

We've never had a rooster, although one of our white leghorn hens thinks she's a rooster.

does she do escort duty? That's all that matters for this purpose.

I'm still not sure why everyone would stop the egg song even for the few times they still (sometimes) lay?

Because it's not about laying. It's about reuniting with the flock. Re-read Shad's article.

Mine don't always do the call. They used to do it ... but it's less frequent since they figured out I don't show up anymore.

Not all of mine do it either. And some do it quickly, and some shout loud and long, and most are in between. Calling is just another facet of individual chicken variation. And the roos attend some quickly and some not at all. In the last case I assume either that no-one is particularly keen for that hen to rejoin the group, or that she won't mate with any of them so they leave her to fend for herself.

We are also at 10 hours of daylight in the winter, but that’s enough to turn off the egg laying

Daylight length is not a hard and fast law of laying. I have hens who've just resumed laying in the last 2 weeks; they were broody earlier in the year, so off laying for months, then early moult, and now are laying again. And we are on just 8 hours of daylight.