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

[writerskramp]

I would rather feed my children with my own hens through out the winter, then to stop producing eggs in the winter, and buy commercial eggs from the grocery store from animals that have been caged their entire life and are culled as soon as they stop producing. For us it's a means of living as well. I prefer the eggs from my happy hens who live for many years over the commercial hens that live on average around 18 months old.

Well said.. Darling. A word I do not use lightly. Best

 

[Maverick1]

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.

If you have 7 pullets you should be getting at least 5 to 7 eggs a day. The problem is that chickens have an internal clock. The shorter days triggers their brain to stop laying. That comes from their animal instinct to hatch eggs. If a chicken hatches eggs in the winter they would not survive the cold. Longer days causes them to lay more. It’s about survival. Although most of their egg laying depends on a lot of their motherly instincts being bread out of them and man developing chickens that lay over 300 eggs a year. However to solve the egg production problem you only have to do one thing! put a light in the hen house. your chickens should have around 14 hrs of light and you will get them laying a lot more. I suggest a timer on a light in the morning around 4 am and it turn off at sunrise. You don’t want it at sunset because when the light turns off the chickens will not be able to find their roosts in the dark. In a couple weeks you will be getting 6-8 eggs a day. Hope this helped you. let me know your results

 

[LizzzyJo]

If you have 7 pullets you should be getting at least 5 to 7 eggs a day. The problem is that chickens have an internal clock. The shorter days triggers their brain to stop laying. That comes from their animal instinct to hatch eggs. If a chicken hatches eggs in the winter they would not survive the cold. Longer days causes them to lay more. It’s about survival. Although most of their egg laying depends on a lot of their motherly instincts being bread out of them and man developing chickens that lay over 300 eggs a year. However to solve the egg production problem you only have to do one thing! put a light in the hen house. your chickens should have around 14 hrs of light and you will get them laying a lot more. I suggest a timer on a light in the morning around 4 am and it turn off at sunrise. You don’t want it at sunset because when the light turns off the chickens will not be able to find their roosts in the dark. In a couple weeks you will be getting 6-8 eggs a day. Hope this helped you. let me know your results

You wouldn’t necessarily get 5-7 eggs a day from 7 pullets. Production pullets maybe. It depends on the breed. Some only lay at egg every few days.

 

[aart]

The shorter days triggers their brain to stop laying. That comes from their animal instinct to hatch eggs. If a chicken hatches eggs in the winter they would not survive the cold.

Not sure why you quoted my post for your reply @Maverick1 ....but.....

It's not instinct, the light triggers the pineal gland which then triggers other hormone production to stimulate the ovary to enlarge and release a yolk.

I've had a broody hatch eggs during a frigid January/February here.
Amazingly the chicks survived just fine.