how long do they lay eggs?

[noodleman]

Ok 2 ?'s first of all who long ( as in how many years ) will a hen lay eggs?

Second. How cold does it have to get for them to stop laying?

 

[ameraucanacrazy]

i have a 6 year old hen and she is still laying big brown eggs

 

[BellLisamo]

Quote:

yay!!!!!!!!!! this leaves me lots of hope.

someone said broodys dont live as long? because brooding takes alot out of them? is this true?

 

[ameraucanacrazy]

i do not know sorry

 

[Debi214]

What state do you live in? My chickens laid all winter and I am here is central Virginia (there were a couple of weeks that the temps were in the teens - brrrrr). I don't keep my chickens locked in a coop without light. They need the light (8 hours) from what I hear to want to lay.

 

[SpringChickens]

Quote:

yay!!!!!!!!!! this leaves me lots of hope.

someone said broodys dont live as long? because brooding takes alot out of them? is this true?

I would think it would be the opposite??? Because if they're broody, they're not laying and laying takes a lot out of them too.
I don't know though.

 

[Mahlzeit]

There is no exact age where a chicken will stop laying. When a hen is born she is born with the eggs inside of her. Whenever those eggs run out is when she will stop laying. I have a game hen who is about 6 years old and still lays eggs. I have also had a chicken who was 3 and no longer lays. Hope this helps.

 

[noodleman]

Thanks for all the answers everyone. As far as where I live it's in Pennsylvania. Gets pretty cold and nast in our particular area too. People around here just say that they will stop laying in the winter, but I wondered if i could keep that from happening by keeping it warm enough in the coop.

 

[farrier!]

My daughter and I spent a winter baby sitting a farm on weekends. They had chickens and 2 different owners tending to them at times. How well they laid depended not on the cold but on how well they were fed and watered. When the better of the two women left for 3 weeks eggs went down to 0. When she came back so did the egg production.
This was near Wisconsin and with sub 0 weather.

 

[card5640]

We are in Maine and it gets really cold, I had a flood light on a timer from 11PM until 3Am and I did not have a reduction in their production all winter. I did not have any frost bite either.