My EE's and Astralorp girls are 20 and 21 weeks old. They are not laying yet. My question is, if they don't start laying before the end of September, will they not lay until next spring? I was thinking of adding light to the coop to make them think it's still summer until they start to lay and then slowly back down the light to normal daylight hours. I am hoping that once they start, they will lay through the winter. What does everyone think?
All lay when ready...I run a heat lamp here once it gets to minus 10...I never really worry about it....Mine slow down during the winter but always lay eggs... Good luck
Mine too. I had one notable pullet lay her first egg on Winter Solstice . My birds are mostly hatchery sourced production type ladies. Ornamental breeds may not start laying until next spring, or not lay very well during the winter at all. Usual cycle is....hatch in spring. Point of lay around 5-6 months, no matter time of year in my experience. Lay straight through that first winter, for a year until about 18 months old. Molt and take a break for a few months (no lighting), then resume laying at a slightly lower rate of lay. Rinise and repeat each year, molting and taking a break to rest and recharge.
From Canada here. Mine are like hers. Actually mine get less than most because my coop doesn't have windows and they don't get light until I open the door in the winter. They laid right through winter consistently...pullets started up on cue according to their age. That's for my Easter Eggers, Old English Game Bantams and Silkies. Roosters were fertile as well, I've been hatching eggs since New Years Day... Original birds from last year; point of lay was approx. 5.5 months. Point of lay for their offspring, the chicks hatched from NYD on have been approx. 5 months. I'm quite impressed with them. Can't wait to see how this winter goes. I think yours should lay without the extra lighting and such.
Ok, sounds like I should skip the lighting and go with natural lighting. Raising backyard birds is so different then how we did things on the commercial poultry ranch that I work on years ago.
