hey all u backyard chicken farmers out there ive got a few ?s how can you tell when your egg layn hens are layed out? ive been doing backyard chickens for a hobby for 3 years now. ive had 2 flocks of hens throughout these 3 years of doing chickens for a hobby. i gave my 1st flock away for free to my my neighbor down the road from me i let him have them & butcherd them. now i'm on my 2nd flock of hens ive got 7 5 golden comets & 2 golden lacced wyandotte hens. i gotem last year in july off of a guy tht raises egg layn hens from chicks up to adult hens. but any how can of any of u out there help me with my ?S wat are sighns that i can look for with my hens so that i can tell if there starting to get layed out? & are ready to go into the freezer
Chickens will lay for many years, but each year you will get larger and fewer eggs. They are only kept commercially for about 12-18 months. As it is Autumn where you are, chickens will naturally stop laying as the days get shorter. You can keep them laying over the winter by using a light on a timer to give them an extra hour or two of light in the mornings, but chooks need a rest at some stage to moult and refeather.
yeah ive heard about using a lite lamp in the coop in the fall & winter ive used a lite the past 2 years idk if it helps them lay better when the daylite hours are short or not it must help cuz i think i do remember this past winter / this past spring i think my light lamp worked cause i think i do remember some days i got a few more eggs in a day when it was cold ,snowy or when it was cold in the spring too.
I sell my sex-link layers after 2 years. They REALLY slow down their third year. The non production breeds can lay a little longer than the sex-links. I butchered some 4 year old (maybe 5yrs) heritage hens for my mother. They were not laying well at all, maybe an egg every two weeks? Not sure, but they made really good chicken stock.
