Egg laying in the winter.

[Mvan42]

I guess this is kinda a bragging/curious post. I see on here and hear locally that most people have slower egg production in the winter. This will be my third winter with chickens.

The past two years I have never had an issue with my hens slowing or stopping all together laying eggs in the winter.
I guess I am just wondering how many of you all have slow egg production and how many doesn't.

 

[Ted_Harrell]

What type of hens do you have?

 

[Duck_life]

I don't normally but this is my first year regrowing my chicken flock so I won't know till my hens start laying.

 

[Acre4Me]

What breeds? Production breeds will produce well, but usually start to slow down after 2-3 years. Heritage breeds will produce less each week, but generally lay for more years.

Light impacts laying, so supplemental light can keep assist in keeping them laying, but for first year pullets they generally lay thru their first winter.

Molt impacts this too. I had two crazy pullets that molted last January at 11 months old -the run was filled with feathers!

 

[aart]

I guess this is kinda a bragging/curious post. I see on here and hear locally that most people have slower egg production in the winter. This will be my third winter with chickens.

The past two years I have never had an issue with my hens slowing or stopping all together laying eggs in the winter.
I guess I am just wondering how many of you all have slow egg production and how many doesn't.

First year doesn't count, many pullets will lay thru their first winter
Second year, did your birds not molt?
No slow down in egg numbers at all the whole year?

Knowing what breed you have is important...
...and if you used any supplemental lighting.
How many birds do you have?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I've never gotten eggs in winter, even with first year layers. We just have so few hours of daylight and so much winter gloom that no one lays (obviously I don't supplement light). Mine will start up again around January at earliest, though most of them don't lay again until Feb or March.

 

[Mvan42]

First year doesn't count, many pullets will lay thru their first winter
Second year, did your birds not molt?
No slow down in egg numbers at all the whole year?

Knowing what breed you have is important...
...and if you used any supplemental lighting.
How many birds do you have?

If they slowed it wasn’t much maybe one less egg a week. First year the two we had were older hens, the second year most were young no molt. Also mine are molting now and we didn’t have much slow down, only one stopped laying for a month and a half. The rest are a year and a half and are molting but still laying. Might be a light molt. I have barred rock, rir, and three others who I am not sure what breed they are. No extra lighting.

 

[Mvan42]

Right now I have 6 layers a cockerel and 2 -5 month olds 6 -2 month olds one a month old and three 3 days old. That should be 19 in total.

 

[aart]

Clear as mud.

The rest are a year and a half and are molting but still laying.

That's pretty rare.

 

[Mvan42]

Clear as mud.


That's pretty rare.

That's what I thought. Especially with the older hens we had our first winter. We will see how they do this winter. All of our flock is young now, with the 6 layers being the oldest at just over a year old.