How to Increase laying rate of chickens this time of year???

[dickhorstman]

WATER WATER WATER

 

[teresalovesmark]

My dad always swore that you need to keep their water warm. We've tried it in the past and it has always seemed to help.

 

[Jakoda]

I have 9 chicks and its COOLD here in CT,,mine are 7mths old and I'm getting around 6 eggs a day on average. I do change out the water ALOT and use warm..I also feed them a warm mash twice a day which consists of oatmeal, flax, oats, etc , veggies/fruit(I get alot of organic stuff and make a mash as well as their reg feed), and have a light on a timer to come on at 1pm and go off at around 6,,gives them almost 12 hours of light..
Diane

 

[chickenman700]

Light controls laying. Put a light on them and they will start laying again.

 

[Okie Ranger]

I believe there are a several factors to good laying in the winter months like breed, type of feed, and lighting. I am a strong believer in lighting.

Chickens need about 14 hours of light a day. In the winter months with shorter days they do not get that. So I have a light on a timer that comes on around 4:30am and shut off at daybreak. The light comes back on in the evening for a short time to get the 14 hours needed. I have 57 hens and I averaged 31 eggs in the month of December. I'm going to average about that many for January too.

When setting up a light, it's seems better to have more light in the morning before sunrise then in the evening after sunset.

 

[Criskin]

This is the first year my chickens haven't laid through the winter. I actually have to...gasp...BUY eggs at the store. They are awful! I've never done anything special to keep them in production, but this year half of my flock is over a year old and the other half only reached 20 weeks on the 5th of this month so I figure that is the deal. They get quality layer pellets, always have lots of fresh water and have a nice warm (if not artificially lit) coop, so I'm just going to patiently let them enjoy their vacation.

 

[MissouriMike]

Thanks for the replies everyone! Some really helpful stuff! Since i posted this i have pit a loght in the coop that comes on at 3:00 AM and goes off at 8:00 AM. They are averaging about 7-9 eggs a day with just 10 hens. Thats pretty good in my opinion. Since the 9th on january i have put 41 eggs in the incubator and they should start hatching late tuesday into wednesday and stop friday or saturday. Really excited for some little chcks! Should be interesting! Candled them all lastnight amd only had 1 that wasnt developed properly. Pretty amazing

 

[Pathfinders]

Increased light is the key. As others have said, nature does intend for hens to take a break and rest, which is why they stop laying when the length of daylight is reduced. However if you need to increase laying before the days naturally get longer, increase the light they get as others have suggested.

Also, good quality protein is important too, as others have also said in this thread.

But there's one more trick no one else has suggested. And I say this to you with the gentle warning not to over-do it.

A small amount of cayenne pepper top-dressed on the feed will sometimes warm a hen's digestive system who is not otherwise laying. I would not use this until I had done the other two things first. This is a last-resort trick, to be used only for a hen or hens who are just not laying despite lengthened light hours, and increased protein and good quality feed.

But a sprinkle of cayenne can sometimes do the trick when all else has failed.

 

[CHICKEN CRAZY1]

i say try more protienyou can try it.