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