Heat Necessary for Egg Laying?

[Mallory835]

My family is new to raising chickens and have 2 that are about 17 weeks old. One is a Rhode Island Red Bantam and the other is a Buff Orphington. Neither has begun to lay yet. We live in New Orleans where the fall and winter temperatures are rarely very cold. However, while I was purchasing feed yesterday the owner of the store suggested that I put a heat source when the temperatures outside begin dropping. He said all of his customers that do that claim their hens continue to lay throughout winter. I have read conflicting things about this and am wondering if the heat is necessary? Is there anything different I should do with the coop or provide for them when temps begin to drop. Right now the temps are in the high 50's - low 70's. However, our temps here fluctuate greatly from day to day.

 

[Chickassan]

Nope, heat isn't needed.

 

[PirateGirl]

lately it's been in the 20s here at night, no heat, my best laying chicken is still laying 6 eggs a week

light on the other hand can impact laying from what I've been told, our days are getting shorter quickly and not all of my girls are laying yet and I was advised by those with more experience than I that they may not lay now until the days start to get longer again, or I supply supplemental light. I have opted not to give them light and let their bodies do what is natural and figure this is probably what's healthiest for my girls. There's a biological reason they aren't laying and I figure it's probably for the best.

I'm of the belief that if you aren't in it for the profit, factory farm style chicken raising, that you shouldn't force them to lay. That's just me. They are a hobby and my pets and produce my breakfast much of the time, and I will let them do their natural chicken thing, and in time they will all be fully mature and all lay me at least a few eggs a week, when they aren't molting or broody and it's not the dead of winter.

 

[PirateGirl]

Whether or not you need to do anything to "winterize" your coop depends on what your setup is like to begin with and how different your winter weather is from your summer weather. If you post some pictures with more info on your coop and weather I'm sure there are plenty of seasoned chicken owners on here who could give you a few tips.

 

[Birdinhand]

where you live I'd just focus on making sure there is decent ventilation in the roost area and no draft. Light has a big effect on the hormones that drive ovulation, so making sure there is a window or adding a light bulb so they get around 12 hours of solid light a day can help, if you are seeing a drop in production. way up north from you, people do debate about insulating and the effect that cold can have on production, but we are talking much, much colder temps.

 

[Mallory835]

Thanks everyone! The only picture I have at the moment of the coop is when we were first setting it up. Since this pic, we added chicken wire all around on top of the existing mesh for added protection. (We had a raccoon pull a chicken through the coop and learned out lessen) There is an upper wooden shelf at the top with a beam for them to roost. As you can see in the pic, this area is protected with sheets of metal on the sides. The roof is also covered with this same metal. My husband also added an edge to the roof that pushes water off so that is does not run into the roost area. However, there is nothing on the other end preventing breeze to blow through. Should this end be covered?

 

[Chickassan]

Yeah,i would it will help keep rain and possibly snow from blowing in.

Thanks everyone! The only picture I have at the moment of the coop is when we were first setting it up. Since this pic, we added chicken wire all around on top of the existing mesh for added protection. (We had a raccoon pull a chicken through the coop and learned out lessen) There is an upper wooden shelf at the top with a beam for them to roost. As you can see in the pic, this area is protected with sheets of metal on the sides. The roof is also covered with this same metal. My husband also added an edge to the roof that pushes water off so that is does not run into the roost area. However, there is nothing on the other end preventing breeze to blow through. Should this end be covered? View attachment 1170168

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yeah,i would it will help keep rain and possibly snow from blowing in.

Thanks for the giggle Chickassan. I lived in the New Orleans area for over 30 years, I saw snow three times. They do see some freezing temperatures but I only recall a hard freeze twice. That was a mess, water pipes bursting all over.

 

[RonP]

Dry is far more important than warm as your breeds are cold hardy till temps well below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Be sure your coop is well ventilated and draft free.

Birds stop laying naturally when light hours diminish (and colder temperatures) due to higher survival hatching rates. That said,

This topic comes up often, my reply to a previous query, hope it helps:

There are a lot of opinions on supplementing light to keep the chickens laying during time periods where there is less than 12-14 hours of available daylight.

My coop gets 16 hours of light 365 days per year. Birds continue to molt regardless, as they do if living on or close to the equator, where the light hours are consistent all year.

Having had to install electricity for the thermostatically controlled water heater, I took advantage and installed a lighting system.

My system has two timers. The first is set to turn the lights on at 5am, off at 9pm.

Power goes on, passes through a photocell, then to a 300 lumen LED bulb, 4.8 watts, in the coop, and two 4.8 watt LEDs for the outside run.
All bulbs are warm white - 3000K

I light the run because I found the birds huddled outside the coop door in the dark one 5:30am morning... They have access to the run 24/7, as it is as secure as the coop.

The lights are on only when it is dark enough outside to be necessary (photocell).
The time on very closely mimics my Summer Solstice.

The second timer is set to go on at 8:30pm, off at 9:30pm, a diffused 200 lumen LED 4 watt bulb. This dim light allows the birds to settle in before all lights out. No stress as immediate darkness may induce.

This system costs less than $5 per year to operate. My egg production does not fluctuate due to seasonal lighting deficiencies.

Hope this helps.

 

[Mallory835]

Yeah,i would it will help keep rain and possibly snow from blowing in.

Thanks! We get rain often, but it might snow (more like sleet) once every 10 years or so here. haha The only worry I had about closing off that end is that it will probably block out the sunlight, but I guess if I just block off the top part at least some light should still be able to come through.