Is it normal to only get 2-4 eggs a day from seven chickens?

[MinnesotaChick]

It looks like you have two or three Americana types? They are nice looking, but lousy layers! I have two, the only ones that lay pastel colored eggs so I know when they are or aren’t laying.....I get very few eggs from them....none for months on end!

 

[Nova Scotia Homestead]

So have you been getting the same count of egg since they all started laying?
Not all chickens lay every day, some only lay 3-4 times a week.
Not all pullets will lay all winter, some will slow down or stop when the days get shorter.

Heat will do nothing to promote laying....
..and probably isn't needed unless it's below zeroF for days on end.

That isn't true at all.....that's misinformation

 

[Kiki]

That isn't true at all.....that's misinformation

What part are you saying is false?
Why do you think it is false?

 

[Kiki]

View attachment 2433167

What exactly do you feed them?
Have you ever dewormed them?

 

[Nova Scotia Homestead]

Hey there. I was acctually really surprised when I started reading this thread, with all the different answers your getting. And also with some information that's being given to you as well.
So the first answer...is YES it is completely normal for hens to slow down...and sometimes even STOP laying in the winter months. Of course some places are colder than others and different regions will be effected differently.
Here is the simple and educated answer to your question:
During the colder weather(winter), nature takes course and the hens internal clock tells them first of all that their baby chicks won't survive in the cold and dark. Hens also know that their bodies will use extra energy in the winter for their bodies to stay warm and survive. Energy they would otherwise be putting towards laying.
So they stop producing.
This is also the time of year hens will naturally rest. If given the option to rest, they will produce eggs longer. It's just nature. However lots of people still decide to keep their hens laying through the winter to feed their family. Like me...
It is not unethical to do so....the only thing we do to keep them laying, is provide them with everything they need. Three essentials...
Food, Heat, Light.
The most important...contrary to what some are telling you on this thread....is acctually food and water. Their food and water intake will sometimes even double....depending on the breed and the temperature, if you don't limit them. This helps them with that extra energy they need to stay warm. Which is the most important And then also that extra energy we want for them to keep laying for us .
Then light.... You need 12-14 hours of low wattage light to keep your eggs laying. I keep my light on from 8am until 8pm. I don't even turn it off at all during that 12 hours. I barely see a difference in my electric bill.
And then last...is heat. Again contrary to what people are telling you...loss of heat will stop them from laying, because hens know their babies won't survive in the cold. AND on top of that...the hens use their physical energy for staying warm. And often don't have enough energy left for laying the eggs. So if you can somehow make your coop warmer....you will eliminate that problem. I live in Canada where it gets cold for the winter and lots of snow for at least 4 months. All I do is insulate my coop walls with hay. I stuffed it right in until no more could be stuffed! And hen I put plywood up on the walls on the inside of the coop. I used plastic poly on the outside of my coop...before I put up the plywood to reduce the cold as well. The chicken coop floor is earth, so I lay about a full foot or more of hay on the ground as well. And lots and lots of hay around the coop for them ro cuddle up and be cozy.
I'm going to leave a link at the end of my message to a site that explains all of this. I really hope that my information was helpful. Please let me know if you have any other questions at all.
Go and read from this site : "Chapter Two: How To Keep Chickens Laying Eggs During Winter" https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/the-definitive-guide-to-keeping-chickens-in-winter-chapter-two/

 

[TheFarm41]

We live in the Pacific Northwest, where the daylight is short in the winter (8 hours and getting shorter). Most of our girls are molting right now. We are averaging 4-5 eggs a day from 24 chickens! Once they finish their molt we want to try lighting the coop in the mornings.

I read you start by having the lights come on 30 minutes before sunrise, then increase the time by 30 minutes every few days until you are at twelve hours of light and daylight each day. Has anyone done this? Has it really increased winter laying?

 

[in2wishin]

Heating your coop is not necessary and a fire hazard. Your hens will do fine without. I live in Wisconsin and have never heated my coop. I do have a light that turns on at 1 am so they have more “daylight hours”. I have 16 hens (many the same as yours and from a spring hatch) and I get on average 11 -14 eggs a day. Most have laid by 7 am so I can collect them before work.

 

[ADKcluckers]

First timer here in Adirondack Mtns, upstate NY.

Got 21 mixed breed chicks in March. Once they started laying, around August for most, we would get 10-14 eggs daily from the 19 that survived. It was actually shocking as about half were chosen for looks and not egg-laying ability. Pets with benefits, more or less.

With the cold weather, many days temps have ranged from teens to high 20s, and we still get 4-7 per day with zero heat, zero added light, and no increase to the amount of food given. In fact, the coop and run are now covered in a metal roof entirely so it is noticeable darker inside during these short northern days, and they are eating less now that I feed them a measured amount daily and don't use the PVC tube feeder system which is meant for times we can't get to them daily (fan of Justin Rhodes here, learned I was overfeeding by a LOT!). They're even molting through this all, as evidenced by the feathers everywhere when I go in to scrape the poop boards each morning. I thought molting would slow them down but doesn't seem so.

I am eating mostly only whites, feeding cooked yolks back with layer crumble and grains and kitchen scraps. This means that every week I use a bit more than two dozen. Wife bakes with some. We give away to family/friends when we can (not as often as hoped, thanks to COVID). And because that leaves us with lots extra I'm water glassing and have 2 full 5 gallon buckets already.

So from our experience I'd say that it depends partly on how happy and healthy your birds are, partly on the science, and partly on luck. I love interacting with my birds, sit and have lunch or coffee in the covered run with them, hold and pet them, talk to them, etc. Compared to others we know who have free range flocks they seem to just "let go", or flocks that get feed and water and not much else, we have better looking, more active, friendlier birds and by all reports more eggs. Will be interesting to see how the second winter compares, since I read that first year layers produce more through winter anyway.

 

[Nova Scotia Homestead]

First timer here in Adirondack Mtns, upstate NY.

Got 21 mixed breed chicks in March. Once they started laying, around August for most, we would get 10-14 eggs daily from the 19 that survived. It was actually shocking as about half were chosen for looks and not egg-laying ability. Pets with benefits, more or less.

With the cold weather, many days temps have ranged from teens to high 20s, and we still get 4-7 per day with zero heat, zero added light, and no increase to the amount of food given. In fact, the coop and run are now covered in a metal roof entirely so it is noticeable darker inside during these short northern days, and they are eating less now that I feed them a measured amount daily and don't use the PVC tube feeder system which is meant for times we can't get to them daily (fan of Justin Rhodes here, learned I was overfeeding by a LOT!). They're even molting through this all, as evidenced by the feathers everywhere when I go in to scrape the poop boards each morning. I thought molting would slow them down but doesn't seem so.

I am eating mostly only whites, feeding cooked yolks back with layer crumble and grains and kitchen scraps. This means that every week I use a bit more than two dozen. Wife bakes with some. We give away to family/friends when we can (not as often as hoped, thanks to COVID). And because that leaves us with lots extra I'm water glassing and have 2 full 5 gallon buckets already.

So from our experience I'd say that it depends partly on how happy and healthy your birds are, partly on the science, and partly on luck. I love interacting with my birds, sit and have lunch or coffee in the covered run with them, hold and pet them, talk to them, etc. Compared to others we know who have free range flocks they seem to just "let go", or flocks that get feed and water and not much else, we have better looking, more active, friendlier birds and by all reports more eggs. Will be interesting to see how the second winter compares, since I read that first year layers produce more through winter anyway.

So your saying that you have 19 birds and out of those 19, your birds are giving you between 4-7 eggs daily. And that most of your hens are molting.
And then your saying that your egg production has NOT been effected. So I'm definitely confused by what your claiming.
I have 26 birds. I get 26 eggs per day almost every single day.
Were you only averaging 4-7 eggs per day before the cold weather came? Because that's far below average....

 

[chickencoop57]

I have 2 Wyandottes and 2 Barred Rock, about 1 1/2 years old that stopped laying about 5 months ago. Now 3 were going thru the molt but there feathers are back but still no eggs. I have a total of 9 laying hen's, all healthy, but I usually only get 4 eggs a day, sometimes 5 and every now and again 6. The ones I know that are laying are the 1 Rhode Island Red, 1 Leghorn, 2 Sexlinks and the 1 of the Orpintons but they seem to lay in intervals. I just know that whomever is not laying when Spring comes, will be in the freezer, cause its to expensive to be those that are not producing. And by the way, I agree with eveything Nova Scotia Homestead said. I have 2 heat lamps anchored to the 2x4 of my enclosed coop (4'x8'x7') with timers as well as about 6 inches of shavings and extra light, when needed... Oh by the way, I also have 6 new California Whites I bought from Tractor Supply. They'll be ready to start laying, next month. We'll see how that goes.