Laying Questions

[Alleyoops25]

Okay all my hens have stopped laying now. Every year when the days get shorter and colder they stop laying. As a stay at home mom I kind of help get a little extra money, mostky to pay for chicken feed. But this has come to a complete halt. Is there anything I can do to kick them back into the egg laying mood at all? I heard of the light bulb trick, but would I have to keep it on all night? I also heard of putting Chayenne pepper into their water. Does this work, or is it just a old wives tail?Any hints would be great.

 

[bantymum]

Yes I would be anxious with a light on too, however a red lamp attached to a powerboard which will cut out incase of a trip would be useful. I have insulated my pen in the past with old hession bags nailed to the walls and ceilings, that helped staright away. good luck

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

I use an outdoor timer from walmart, about $12.00.
I set it to turn lights on at 4 am and off at 7 or 7:30 am, depending on how light it is. I just make sure they stay on until after daylight. I let them go to bed at dusk with natural light.

About what to give them to start them laying again, I have heard about the pepper thing...know people who said it worked...I tried it and my egg production went from 2 dozen eggs a day to zero. So I won't be doing that again. It took over a month for them to start laying again.

The age of the hens has a lot to do with it. If they are older hens, they may just need a rest, Mother Nature has a way of taking care of her own.

Ashes from burnt wood has always worked well for me. When we burn brush, we scoop some of the ashes up and put in the chicken run. They eat some of it, and dust bathe in it. I don't know why but they always seem to pick up on their laying when we do this.

Jean

 

[Davaroo]

Im not sure, but I believe that even in the winter with extra light hours, they dont just turn on like a steam roller and lay like crazy. They NEED a chance to slow down. If they were all hatched at the same time, then they may be all in that period and heading for the molt = I dunno.

Somethin' I've read about that was always a part of winter laying was keeping two flocks. One lays earlier and peters out by winter, the other was a late hatched group and comes into laying during the winter months. It was a whole juggling act you did to make sure you kept the egg flow according to their natural periods. You also had to cull the unproductive ones. Just having a birds laying, non-stop, will burn them out.

 

[Alphagamchick]

David,
Happened upon your post. Had a good laugh at the Ted Nugent comment. I'm from Michigan-Teddy's home. (Also, home to Bob Seger(he used to live down the road from my current home and now Kid Rock lives 2 dirt roads over from me. His kid goes to our public schools. He gave 30grand to help finance our spray park. My hubby saw him and Pam Anderson a few years ago at the local lawn mower store. Whooda thunk it. DETROIT ROCKS!!! I was a Nuge fan in High School-just " few" years ago. Now I'm a country girl. Thanks for the laugh and the memories.

 

[sunnychooks]

There is a good post titled "artificial daylight in the hen house" that was posted yesterday. It has lots of good info, including a debate of opinions on the subject.

 

[MissPrissy]

Here is my post about lights in the hen house.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=18717

 

[Davaroo]

Winter is a slowdown time. Not just for chickens, either, and its a time to refresh and rebuild.
Egg laying is seasonal, for the most part, much as we want to think otherwise. This should be recognized in our zeal to keep 'em churning out the eggs.

Now you can "trick" chickens with artificial lighting to some degree, but it isnt like they go, "Oh hey theres more light now - it must be spring already, so I better start crankin 'em out for my beloved master..."

What you do as I understand it, is to just extend their season somewhat. They still slow down by some degree. Whats the predictable amount? I have no clue. Maybe they DONT and just burn out sooner. I have never fussed with all that lighting stuff, so cannot qualify as a chicken light expert.

The whole artificial light thing was conceived back when electric light became common place. It was seen as a way to help keep eggs going in the time of year when prices were the highest. Along with that was the idea of having to flocks: A spring/summer group and a winter laying flock.
With the advent of refrigeration and centralized factory methods, it fell from favor.