Laying Year Round

[Aristocat123]

My first flock of 6 born during the month of May kept laying through their first winter. With my second flock of 17 born in April of this year, I'm getting from 6 - 8 eggs per day right now, and some are starting to molt. I know they are healthy - I figure mother nature knows better than I.

I agree. So it’s not a rule, it varies ....

 

[LilyD]

That’s why it confuses me. We live in South Florida so it goes without saying that the temperature is not an issue and the day light is also longer. It doesn’t get dark until around 5:30 PM. It’s ok with me if their bodies need a break as long as they’re healthy

Agreed it is the same here. I am okay only getting a few eggs from those that are still laying. This is why although I hatch out hundreds of chicks a year I only keep around 6 hens normally over winter. I think that, at least up here the extreme cold temps and loads of snow (we can get as cold as -40 below zero for weeks if we are having a very bad winter. Plus upwards of 4 feet of snow on the ground) can, in a way, force our chickens to need a break while they use the nutrients they would normally use to make eggs to instead stay warm and healthy.

I know us humans up here tend to eat a little more as well and do a lot less each day until it warms up in spring. Personally I think of it like a sliding scale no matter what we give them to eat/drink etc they have only so much body energy they can put towards 1. laying 2. keeping healthy 3. staying warm/cool depending on the weather and 4. normal foraging and playing chicken activities daily. That energy comes from the food they eat and the vitamins and minerals they find naturally in the world through sunshine, foraging etc. If for some reason their health declines due to injury or illness they have to take nutrients from somewhere else to get well again which is why they usually stop laying. It should stand to reason that if it is cold and miserable the energy that they normally have to stay warm or cool will have to increase and the energy for laying eggs will decrease. The same can be said for overly wet conditions, excessive snow they have to slog through etc.

 

[Aristocat123]

Agreed it is the same here. I am okay only getting a few eggs from those that are still laying. This is why although I hatch out hundreds of chicks a year I only keep around 6 hens normally over winter. I think that, at least up here the extreme cold temps and loads of snow (we can get as cold as -40 below zero for weeks if we are having a very bad winter. Plus upwards of 4 feet of snow on the ground) can, in a way, force our chickens to need a break while they use the nutrients they would normally use to make eggs to instead stay warm and healthy.

I know us humans up here tend to eat a little more as well and do a lot less each day until it warms up in spring. Personally I think of it like a sliding scale no matter what we give them to eat/drink etc they have only so much body energy they can put towards 1. laying 2. keeping healthy 3. staying warm/cool depending on the weather and 4. normal foraging and playing chicken activities daily. That energy comes from the food they eat and the vitamins and minerals they find naturally in the world through sunshine, foraging etc. If for some reason their health declines due to injury or illness they have to take nutrients from somewhere else to get well again which is why they usually stop laying. It should stand to reason that if it is cold and miserable the energy that they normally have to stay warm or cool will have to increase and the energy for laying eggs will decrease. The same can be said for overly wet conditions, excessive snow they have to slog through etc.

In retrospect right after Thanksgiving a couple of the laying pullets had Mycoplasma so would that be an issue? Not all of them though.....3 out of 8. One CM stopped laying eggs at the end of October and my 2 EE right after they got sick. All the other ones were not showing any symptoms but they did stop laying except 2 RIR. ‍The temperature dropped suddenly and they’re not used to that so they got sick. They’re well now but it was really scary since this is my first time having chickens ever.

 

[LilyD]

In retrospect right after Thanksgiving a couple of the laying pullets had Mycoplasma so would that be an issue? Not all of them though.....3 out of 8. One CM stopped laying eggs at the end of October and my 2 EE right after they got sick. All the other ones were not showing any symptoms but they did stop laying except 2 RIR. ‍The temperature dropped suddenly and they’re not used to that so they got sick. They’re well now but it was really scary since this is my first time having chickens ever.

I think that is totally possible. Look at us getting sick the energy to produce the white blood cells to fight off the illness even with antibiotics can leave us drained and washed out. All our energy goes towards getting better. Is it a possibility that the others that weren't showing signs of illness were actually ill and hiding it (as a prey species they tend to not want to show sickness or injury because the predators will target them because of it) and maybe that is what made them stop laying?

 

[Aristocat123]

I think that is totally possible. Look at us getting sick the energy to produce the white blood cells to fight off the illness even with antibiotics can leave us drained and washed out. All our energy goes towards getting better. Is it a possibility that the others that weren't showing signs of illness were actually ill and hiding it (as a prey species they tend to not want to show sickness or injury because the predators will target them because of it) and maybe that is what made them stop laying?

Poor babies. Thank you for the reply and have a Happy New Year with healthy chickens and lots of eggs.

 

[Fintechie]

My flock of 13 born on late April, three haven't started to lay, 2 stopped to lay a month ago, the rest lays every other day on average, lately. So I'm getting 4-6 eggs (could be 3 or 7 eggs too). Quite happy with that.