laying and freezing

[LearningToFly]

Hi, all! This is our first winter to have chickens. The weather has been unseasonably cold here, but the chickens seem fine. We have two hens and a rooster, and they are all large breeds.

Unexpectedly, the chickens began laying yesterday. We had one egg that was frozen and cracked, and another that was cold.

Last night I checked the nest box before the birds went to sleep; no eggs. This morning, we had one egg that was frozen and cracked. After I removed it, one of the girls laid another.

I'm a little concerned; do the frozen eggs mean that the roost is too cold for the birds? How many times a day should I check for eggs?

Any ideas you can give me will be appreciated; thanks!

 

[Splash_Guard]

I'm new at winter raising myself; have had one frozen egg. I now check the boxes at daylight, and then every 2-3 hours until 5 p.m.

 

[Jenlyn9483]

The frozen eggs mean thats its extremely cold when they lay it and it freezes before you gather them..My chickens lay eggs anywhere from the crack of dawn til dark. All I know is ck your eggs early in the morning and every hour or so til u get your two eggs. I live in FL so I dont have to deal with freezing temps but a few days a yr. I have heard of people putting warm pads in their nest box under the hay..Thats another thing make sure there is plenty of hair in the boxes. The hen will build a little nest in the hay and the hay will warm up from her and keep the egg warmer for a short period of time.

 

[LearningToFly]

Should I be expecting 1 egg / day from each hen?

 

[UP_Chicken_Lover]

I'm in the UP of MI and haven't had any frozen eggs. Our nest box is filled with hay and pine shavings - is close to the heat lamp - and the girls are laying around 9 to 5 every day. We go out at noon and then again at 5 PM... We have been minus 25 degrees here for a couple of days because of a blizzard and blowing snow. The girls are not going out - seem to be happy to be inside...

We have a red heat lamp and a regular light on a timer - they get 14 hours of "light" and seem pretty regular as far as when they are laying. We're getting 3 to 4 eggs daily from 5 hens.

 

[bills]

Quote:
Not every hen will lay every day. Some may alternate, some lay every day. The breed of hen will sometimes make a difference as well, as some are higher producers. My ISA Browns (sex link) are know to be good producers, but even still, I get some days where one will not lay.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
Not every hen will lay every day. Some may alternate, some lay every day. The breed of hen will sometimes make a difference as well, as some are higher producers. My ISA Browns (sex link) are know to be good producers, but even still, I get some days where one will not lay.

I agree.
Here are some good web sites

http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html
http://www.mypetchicken.com/aboutChickens.aspx