Is cayenne pepper the same as crushed red pepper?

[frog522]

Jump starting my chickens to lay eggs is sounding pretty good right now. They're about 22 weeks now and have combs and wattles but they are not red yet.

I've heard adding cayenne pepper to their diet could speed up their metabolism and start egg production faster. I went to a local Target (since they have a grocery section now) and was hoping to pick up crushed cayenne pepper. The only cayenne pepper products I found were "ground".

Is crushed red pepper the same as cayenne pepper? Does it have the same effect?

Also, since I'm posting this, I thought I'd also ask about egg production. The length of the day (amount of sunlight) has been decreasing. Would it be possible that my girls (22 weeks now) won't start laying until Spring if I don't supply an external light source? Setting up a light source may not be easy since my coop isn't close to any electrical outlet. I'm wondering will the girls not lay at all until the days get longer again? Or will they just lay at irregular intervals?

Thanks!

 

[PurpleChicken]

No, crushed red pepper is usually from cherry peppers, not Cayenne.

Ground Cayenne should be fine or you can buy dried cayennes and chop them up yourself.

Keep your expectation reasonable about the egg production. We are going into fall with shorter days. Most of our birds are stopping laying and starting to molt. A light in the coop from 4am to 10 pm would be more effective than pepper.