eggs in winter

Nothing is wrong!
Chickens are almost always lazier in winter. They either stop or slow down. However, if you really want your eggs, go catch one of those no-good hens and squeeze them until an egg pops out...

 

If you don't provide light in winter they will slow down. Chickens need about 14 hours of light to lay on regular schedule. It's natural for them to slow down through the winter. If you want to keep egg production up you have to add a light with a timer to provide proper lighting. I do this but I will stop the light in a few weeks to let them rest.

 

Quote:Ditto, mine stopped until i added a light and a timer to give them 14 hours

 

Sigh, I think mine will never lay an egg again. It has been several months since they have graced me with their rent. Just when they started showing renewed interest in the nest box, a loose dog attacked the flock. No injuries but the the one who lost a lot of feathers went AWOL and hid in the woods for several hours.

Then when I finally let them out today, a K-9 unit responding to a house alarm came here instead. The dog was good, but they still freaked and ran into the woods. I coaxed them back into the coop where they cowered on the roost. Oh well, getting eggs was nice while it lasted.

 

Our's stop laying in June-September because of the heat.

We love the winter here... just not the heavy storms that are coming our way.

I know I should be grateful, we always pray for rain. We are going to have TONS of snow in the mountains to fill the reservoirs. The Salt and the Gila will be running soon!

 

Mine slowed way down at the end of Oct, barely laying any in Dec, and now are picking up steam rather quickly in Jan. We still have cold and snow. And the days are still overcast (what happened to that yellow orb?????!!!!!) but I set my alarm for 5AM as the roos are already crowing and ready to get out thru the pop door as soon as I open it. The girls take their sweet time waiting as I clean the poop boards. And I prefer that they eat at the feed bin before indulging in treats and then lay eggs before I go to work so I can collect them before they freeze. So the girls get their treats in the afternoon when I get home from work and collect eggs. I dont have an insulated coop and I don't have electricity out there for added light. I suppose they could have layed all winter if I added light.

 

Quote:I had a actual dog attack and found 15 dead and others missing. Even my Sexlinks would not lay 2-3 months even though the survivors were not missing many feathers but I guess due to stress. And sure enough the next day after I broke down and bought eggs from the store....they started laying again.