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

[Tonyroo]

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/

Thank you for being descriptive with your answers, it gives new people an understanding for cause and reason of situations involving chicken keeping.

 

[writerskramp]

"2-4 eggs a day from seven chickens?" Consider yourself lucky and give yourself a pat on the back and an attaboy ! Have about 36.. can't count them as they move around too much.. I get anywhere from none to 30 a day in Spring and early Summer.. Right now not a one.. Removed some nests from the egg house for maintenance and some belligerent Black Jersey Giants. New additions.. Chickens don't like change and it's becoming winter.

 

[Allthefloofs]

We have 6 layers and get one egg per day right now. Pretty normal.

 

[ackie]

I'm still laughing at "depends how many are roosters".

 

[ClundRnc]

They hatched back in May, so they have only been laying since early fall. We live in Northwest Colorado. So yeah, it’s cold. I have a heater on when its below freezing.

I have chickens that hatched in April. 4 of 5 started laying at about 20 weeks the last one just started laying this week! There really is no normal. We are getting 3-5 eggs a day now.

 

[bill3607]

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/

Excellent information.

 

[aart]

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.

Funny, then how pullets will lay all winter here where it is below freezing for weeks on end.
Nice impressively long post, much copied from the blog you linked?
Some of it is good info, some of it is inaccurate.

 

[Tilhana]

I have 9 laying hens right now; 2x 2-year-olds, 2x 1-year-olds, and the other 5 were born this past May. Right now I'm getting 0-2 eggs per day. I'm in USDA zone 6 - southern New England. Been trying to give a bit more food to try to increase the yield, and also run an IR heat lamp on the very coldest nights or when it's been raining or snowing, but no other heat/light supplementation. If I recall correctly from the last couple years, though, egg production started ramping up shortly after the winter solstice. I think once the hours of natural light start increasing instead of decreasing it signals them to start prodcuing more.

 

[aart]

I think once the hours of natural light start increasing instead of decreasing it signals them to start prodcuing more.

Yes, they are definitely tuned into even tiny increases of day length, especially the younger birds.

 

[Susan Dye]

I have 8 chickens and haven't had a single egg in 5 days. My first yr, with 6 spring chicks, they started laying in the fall and layed all winter. Averaging 5 eggs a day out of 6 hens. Same the next year. Third yr, last yr, I added 3 EE's in the spring. They started laying late fall, quit when winter hit, started back this spring. Which brings me to this yr. Up until this yr. only one hen did any serious molting and I was beginning to wonder if she was ever going to get her feathers back. So she didn't lay for quite some time. This yr everyone has been molting. Most of the girls have already grown back their feathers, but haven't resumed laying. There are still so many feathers in the hen house every morning, I've been wondering if they are molting again! Egg production had tapered off to one green egg and one brown egg every other day. Then dropped off to only one egg every other day. Now, nothing for 5 days. And, weather here has been unusually warm for this time of yr, with only a few night time temps below freezing. But, of course the weather has nothing to do with shorter daylight hrs. Well, except when we have overcast days where it looks darker later in the morning and earlier in the evening. Those days we all get up later and they go to bed earlier. Hoarding my eggs for baking and finally eating the oatmeal that's been in the cupboard for a yr or longer! And, looking forward to spring.