Hen's quit laying?

[Rooster Don]

I know it's winter with less daylight and this makes a difference (since I do not do artificial lighting) in how many eggs I should get, I did not have this problem the first 3 winters. I have 16 egg laying hens and am getting 2 or 3 eggs a day. Does less daylight make THIS much difference? i live in Austin Texas.

 

[ChickenGrass]

Hi there.
I live in Ireland and I don't get any eggs off my breeding hens during winter,
Well very few.
My hybrids are only laying 3-4 eggs a week and that's because light hours.
Don't worry it is normal for hens to stop laying in winter.
Goodluck
Fionn.

 

[lisaleesa546]

How old are the hens? New pullets in their first winter will lay quite well throughout the season. Older hens who are in or coming out of molt will have a much less productive winter. Also depends on breeds. Not sure if you have different breeds this year than previous years, but some do much better than others in winter!

 

[Rooster Don]

Thanks to you both. I have mixed breeds, none over 4 years old.

 

[lisaleesa546]

Chickens get less productive every year, with a real noticeable difference after 3-4 years. At that point the amount of eggs will decrease no matter what season it is, but especially in winter you will see a big decrease. You should see an increase though as the day light hours start increasing. If egg production is your main goal and you aren't getting enough eggs once spring hits you may want to start culling the older less production hens

 

[Rooster Don]

Thanks Lisa. No, eggs are not the only goal. Chickens are fun to have. Eggs are just a super groovy bonus. And there is no point in selling eggs for me because I think my selling price to make any profit now is around $2,341 a dozen. So I guess now I need to start adding the last addition to the coop which will be the assisted living 'wing'....sorry.