It's very cold but still getting eggs

[Christine12]

My 5 six month old silkie hens have been laying since 24 November. I get between 3-5 eggs a day from them which is great but it is -2 temperature at the moment and I was hoping so they conserve their energy for extra heat they would stop laying but they haven't? Everyday despite being cold they are still laying. They lay them now though overnight the last few days as it is colder whereas before it was usually around 11am. Is this something they do when it gets colder. Also yesterday Halo photo below laid one in the run after making a nest hole, this never been done neither. How can I encourage them to stop laying just until weather gets warmer, is there a way?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Is that -2 F or -2 C?
Silkies are still chickens so frequency and timing of lay will be like other chickens. Temperature has very little to do with it.
The primary impetus is daily light period. Or more accurately, whether the light period is increasing vis a vis daily dark period or vice versa.
If you are in the northern hemisphere and they all started laying in late November, they must be very young.
One winter a few years ago, I kept a daily log for four flocks. Each day I recorded daily high and daily low temperatures, precipitation (rain and snow), wind speed and egg production.
Our winter temps hang around teens F to 40 F but occasionally drop to zero or well below.
Through the entire winter there was no correlation between production and temperature.
As for time of day, do your chickens experience any light after dusk? Whether that be a heat lamp street lights, light from vehicles, outside light that shines into the coop?
It takes about 25 hours to produce an egg, so they will never lay at the same time every day even though it may seem like it because they won't lay at night unless they drop an egg from the roost. Otherwise, when that 25 hour cycle extends to after dusk, they'll hold that egg till morning. That also means, they will lay in the morning till the production cycle catches up with dawn. Then the eggs will come a little later every day till they skip a day.
That discussion refers to productive breeds like leghorns and RIRs. Silkies aren't known to be very productive so the production cycle and timing may not be as recognizable.

 

[Christine12]

Is that -2 F or -2 C?
Silkies are still chickens so frequency and timing of lay will be like other chickens. Temperature has very little to do with it.
The primary impetus is daily light period. Or more accurately, whether the light period is increasing vis a vis daily dark period or vice versa.
If you are in the northern hemisphere and they all started laying in late November, they must be very young.
One winter a few years ago, I kept a daily log for four flocks. Each day I recorded daily high and daily low temperatures, precipitation (rain and snow), wind speed and egg production.
Our winter temps hang around teens F to 40 F but occasionally drop to zero or well below.
Through the entire winter there was no correlation between production and temperature.
As for time of day, do your chickens experience any light after dusk? Whether that be a heat lamp street lights, light from vehicles, outside light that shines into the coop?
It takes about 25 hours to produce an egg, so they will never lay at the same time every day even though it may seem like it because they won't lay at night unless they drop an egg from the roost. Otherwise, when that 25 hour cycle extends to after dusk, they'll hold that egg till morning. That also means, they will lay in the morning till the production cycle catches up with dawn. Then the eggs will come a little later every day till they skip a day.
That discussion refers to productive breeds like leghorns and RIRs. Silkies aren't known to be very productive so the production cycle and timing may not be as recognizable.

Thanks very informative. Yes they are young, 6 months old. It is centigrade, appreciate this is probably quite warm compared to some places but very cold for us! Yes there is a tiny light outside the coop that probably throws a bit of light through the ventilation grill. I put it there as I read chickens can't see in the dark and don't like it although when they were chicks and in the brooder, they seemed to go straight to sleep when the light went. Do you have any thought on why Halo decided yesterday to lay an egg in the run despite the fact she had access to coop?

 

[David61]

cold has very little to do with it. Their age is why egg production is not slowing down as they did not molt. Next year when they molt you will need to worry about extra protein to help make feather.

 

[nao57]

I would guess that if they felt stressed out, they would stop. And until then don't worry.

Although I'm curious if Silkies have better insulation advantages like people thought they did? I'd read people thinking their extra fluff could let them resist weather stress better? But I don't know if this idea is proven, true. So I'm curious if others will comment on it?

I'm curious if that 25 hours for an egg to be produced is true for ducks and geese also? Or is it different for them.

Its very interesting that you brought that up.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I would guess that if they felt stressed out, they would stop. And until then don't worry.

Although I'm curious if Silkies have better insulation advantages like people thought they did? I'd read people thinking their extra fluff could let them resist weather stress better? But I don't know if this idea is proven, true. So I'm curious if others will comment on it?

I'm curious if that 25 hours for an egg to be produced is true for ducks and geese also? Or is it different for them.

Its very interesting that you brought that up.

Some species of ducks are on a closer to 24 hour schedule. Not sure about geese.

I haven't raised silkies but I look at them like frizzles. I think they are less able to handle cold. I've had several frizzles and their feathers aren't arranged in a way to retain heat.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Thanks very informative. Yes they are young, 6 months old. It is centigrade, appreciate this is probably quite warm compared to some places but very cold for us! Yes there is a tiny light outside the coop that probably throws a bit of light through the ventilation grill. I put it there as I read chickens can't see in the dark and don't like it although when they were chicks and in the brooder, they seemed to go straight to sleep when the light went. Do you have any thought on why Halo decided yesterday to lay an egg in the run despite the fact she had access to coop?

Are you in Europe or Canada?
-2C isn't very cold for a chicken.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

As @ChickenCanoe said. Its all about the light level, which is already starting to climb. -2C is about 28.5F. Jeans and jacket weather for us, perfectly warm for an adult bird of laying age. I've 4 week old hatchlings happily playing in temps near that right now - though they have a heat lamp in the shed, as they've still got a bit of baby down. Honestly, its more to assuage my wife's opinions about how the chickens "should feel" than for any need they might have as demonstrated by their behaviors.

WIND and water is the big concern for a bird, as a wind or rain that prevents their feathers from effectively insulating the body is far more dangerous than another 5 or 10 degree drop in temp. Keep your birds dry and draft-free, they are good to MUCH lower temps. There are BYC posters if dry, cold Alaska and Canada with birds at -30C, -40C and no supplemental heat, successfully, year after year.

Your bird started laying very late in the season, which is likely why they continued to lay thru the shortest days of the year and into today. My flock had a number of birds already laying in fall, whose egg production dropped precipitously as days grew short, and are now starting to lay again. Others were "due" (don't get me started about the vagaries of a Chicken's calendar about when to begin to begin laying) to start near the shortest day of the year, and delayed their beginning until this past week. I had dropped from 9-10/day to 2-3/day, and am now up to 12-13/day, with my ducks having stopped entirely in late November/early December. Obviously, some birds -like, seemingly, your Silkie -will start in that narrow window while most are shutting down for the year, and lay right thru. Artificial light sources will have an impact, too.

 

[Chickens-are-cool]

My 5 six month old silkie hens have been laying since 24 November. I get between 3-5 eggs a day from them which is great but it is -2 temperature at the moment and I was hoping so they conserve their energy for extra heat they would stop laying but they haven't? Everyday despite being cold they are still laying. They lay them now though overnight the last few days as it is colder whereas before it was usually around 11am. Is this something they do when it gets colder. Also yesterday Halo photo below laid one in the run after making a nest hole, this never been done neither. How can I encourage them to stop laying just until weather gets warmer, is there a way?

I have 6 young hens and they have been laying since September/October depending on the chicken and they are still laying even though it is freezing and the days are short. I have never had chickens lay this long. At first I was concerned they weren’t conserving their energy for heat but their bodies will do whatever is best for them, if they need to conserve energy they will stop laying. It is actually a good sign they are laying as it means they’re healthy!

 

[nao57]

Some species of ducks are on a closer to 24 hour schedule. Not sure about geese.

I haven't raised silkies but I look at them like frizzles. I think they are less able to handle cold. I've had several frizzles and their feathers aren't arranged in a way to retain heat.

Wow. Thank you for the comment.