Good winter layers

[Stamper]

Quote:
Ha, ha! I know

I mean, I was exaggerating a tad. A few days a year it gets down to 30 and a few days it gets up to a sweltering 80 but not often.

Is the light really, really necessary to get winter eggs? There's not electricity in the coop right now...

 

[vermontgal]

Fresh chicken eggs keep as much as 6 months, properly refrigerated. I am simply planning to stock up for when my girls molt and perhaps take a break for winter. You can also freeze eggs, not in the shell. Most people eat fewer eggs over the summer, when chickens are laying peak - and then the people like to eat more eggs about the time the chickens slow down in the late fall. The refrigerator can be your solution to this, rather than forcing the chickens to keep laying with lights.

 

[Omran]

Quote:
I have 6 RIR and I tell you what, last wnter every day I had at least 4 eggs out of them, so yes youwant eggs RIR are real good.

 

[CovenantCreek]

Quote:
Ha, ha! I know

I mean, I was exaggerating a tad. A few days a year it gets down to 30 and a few days it gets up to a sweltering 80 but not often.

Is the light really, really necessary to get winter eggs? There's not electricity in the coop right now...

Ummm..... where are you located? I haven't decided yet where we're moving to the occasional 30s and sweltering 80s sounds like it has definite possibilities.

You could probably do ok without the extra light. If your production drops off too much it just takes a really long outdoor extension cord to get electricity to the coop. The girls in my small coop did fine without extra light. I finally added some when I was consistently opening the pop door before they were even awake, but I only set it to come on about the time I'd be getting there to wake 'em up anyway. That coop has several windows, though. My other only has one small window that faces north, it stays pretty dark even in the day.

 

[Stamper]

Quote:
Ha, ha! I know

I mean, I was exaggerating a tad. A few days a year it gets down to 30 and a few days it gets up to a sweltering 80 but not often.

Is the light really, really necessary to get winter eggs? There's not electricity in the coop right now...

Ummm..... where are you located? I haven't decided yet where we're moving to the occasional 30s and sweltering 80s sounds like it has definite possibilities.

You could probably do ok without the extra light. If your production drops off too much it just takes a really long outdoor extension cord to get electricity to the coop. The girls in my small coop did fine without extra light. I finally added some when I was consistently opening the pop door before they were even awake, but I only set it to come on about the time I'd be getting there to wake 'em up anyway. That coop has several windows, though. My other only has one small window that faces north, it stays pretty dark even in the day.

Northern California, in Humboldt county

 

[mistylady]

Our Dominiques only missed three days all winter and we had a nasty winter. They have no heat in their coop and we had some wind chills down in the -20's. The coop is very tight though. But I was impressed with them still laying in the bitter cold!

 

[nhchickmom]

A light will really make a difference in egg production. Chickens need 14-16 hours of day light to produce eggs efficiently. Try running an extension chord out to the coop and using a timer so that it will automatically turn on/off by itself. It's better to use a 25 watt or lower bulb as over that is to bright. Lastly do not keep a light on all the time. 24/7 light weakens their immune system.

Lastly if you do not care so much about consistent egg production you can try the au natural approach.

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

We didnt add any heat or light to our RIRs and they have laid consitantly throughout the winter.

ETA: Our coop isnt draft free either.

 

[sonew123]

I live way upstate New York temps get 15-20 below--I have 1 RIR hen and 2 BO hens with 1 BO rooster--they did great all winter-The roo had a little frostbite on his comb but that was it-I kept a small house for them...totally cleaned out once a week-new pine shavings thick for heat-food and water ( in a heated water bowl) warmed leftovers with their regular food-my hens laid an egg each everyday-big brown eggs and alot of double yolkers from the RIR hen. Right now it's snowing-again-and they are all outside playing and scratching around-with 3 more eggs to collect this am! good luck

 

[Stamper]

Quote:
In a perfect world, I would rather have chickens who were naturally better at laying in conditions with shorter days... I think I will be going au natural but it would still be nice to get some fresh eggs over the winter months

Also, does anyone store eggs somehow that is not a refrigerator?