No Eggs and it's been a week?????

[Anna]

I have 3 older laying chickens and 2 young chickens .
The 3 older ones haven't laid a single egg in a week.I am not expecting any from the younger ones yet.
I am in Spain and it has got pretty cold and wet here recently.Could this be the reason?
Does the egg production go down or stop when it gets cold?
Thanks in advance for your replies
Anna

 

[gritsar]

Hi Anna,
I have no idea about the climate in Spain. Are your daylight hours less this time of year?
It's not the cold that slows down or even stops the laying, it's the decrease in daylight.
Another cause would be moulting. Are any of your hens moulting?

 

[Anna]

The Daylight hours are less now ..but we have friends who live near us and their chickens are still laying ?
We have no way of giving them more light ..the coop and run are at the very end of a large garden , so no power points nearby.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Some breeds are known for their laying in the winter, i.e., when daylight hours are less.
How about moulting? Are you noticing an increased number of feathers in the coop?
There are pros and cons to adding light in the wintertime. I personally don't believe in adding it. If you have no way of adding light, you may have to just wait until they are ready to lay again. What are you feeding them?

 

[HuckFinn]

Gritsar - could you share some of the cons of adding light in the wintertime?

I've only read about the positives..

Thank you

 

[digitS']

Anna, you may be north of Madrid but at 40° North, that city now has 9 hours and 20 minutes of sunlight.

Madrid doesn't seem to have it too bad. You are so close to "turning that around" with the Winter Solstice. (Of course, I'm giving each and every one credit for this wondrous event

!) And, without power to your coop anyway . . .

Perhaps it would be best to continue to feed the hens well and just wait a few weeks until increasing daylight brings them back into lay.

Steve

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Huck, each hen only has so many eggs to lay in her lifetime. The number of ovum that will develop is programmed into the hen before she even hatches; much as it is with human females.
If you add light, your hens will continue to lay in the wintertime when mother nature is telling them it's time for a break. Some breeds continue to lay throughout the winter or only take a short break, as mine did.
If you add lights, you'll get more eggs sooner, but chances are those hens will stop laying at a younger age. Don't add light, you'll get less eggs in the wintertime, but everything else being equal those hens will lay for a longer period over their lifetime.
Adding light doesn't change the number of eggs the hen produces in her lifetime, only the time period in which those eggs are produced.
Laying is also hard work. It's stressful on the hen. There are those members on the forum who had experienced trouble with internal laying issues (in their hens, not themselves!) and contribute at least some of those issues to the addition of light.
So what it comes down to is why you have chickens in the first place. My chickens are first and foremost my pets. I want them to be around for a long time and it would be nice if they continue to produce at least some eggs to help pay for their upkeep.
If your primary goal is to sell or you need alot of eggs for your own use, then adding light may be necessary for you. It's an individual choice.

 

[Mahonri]

Quote:
That's what LONG extension cords are for. Light in the coop = more eggs. I have a long extension cord and my light is normally on from 6AM until 8PM everyday.