No eggs, how to kick start?

[Ted Brown]

Yeah, I know.
It's crap shoot...

Surely hatching every spring overcomes vagaries??

 

[Egghead_Jr]

There are no vagaries with a flock you own and know. I hatch every spring and get no eggs every winter. Nothing vague about that.

Much depends on your birds. Back in the day when I raised hatchery birds they laid through first winter and would start keeling over from being egg bound in the spring of third year. The birds I raise now would require winter lighting to start lay in winter. I let them start March with natural daylight. My current birds take longer than six months to come into lay and lay four to five eggs per week at three years.

If you provide lighting it only requires enough lumen to read by. Set the lights on a timer to turn on in the wee hours of the morning then off when it's daylight. You want to supplement daylight by extending the hours to 12 or more. Use a timer to keep it consistent and you'll start getting eggs in a few weeks. In the spring you can keep them off, if you want maximum egg production turn them on again in the fall.

 

[akf93]

Correct way to add light?

Tagging in on this. I’m considering adding light. Should it be done gradually? I was thinking 15 minutes before sunrise and then adding 15 minutes of light each day until I’m around 12 hours of light per day. Good plan? Excessive?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Should it be done gradually? I was thinking 15 minutes before sunrise and then adding 15 minutes of light each day until I’m around 12 hours of light per day. Good plan? Excessive?

You can kick it in all at once. Sometimes there are problems with the birds going into coop at dusk when there are lights on in the coop. Unless you have a cock bird that crows it usually works better to add the lighting hours to the morning as they are already in the coop. Leaves the afternoon to normal chicken activity and cooping of themselves.

My current sunset is 4:14 pm. I'd set the timer for 4 am to turn on and 8 am to turn off.

 

[Ted Brown]

Obviously easiest on keeper to "kick it in all at once" early morning.

 

[aart]

Surely hatching every spring overcomes vagaries??

It depends on when you hatch, IMO.
Have had it work perfectly with pullets starting to lay as the older birds stop for molt.
But still....as @Blooie sez, "they are not pez dispensers"

 

[Mrs. K]

In the past, if I got the pullets to lay before November, I got a few eggs a day all through the winter. Not so this year.

I have one 3 year old bird, one that hatched the first of April - I did get a few eggs from her, she is suppose to be a higher quality leghorn. I have 1 that hatched first of March, and 3 that I think hatch in May. Nada from any of them.

Generally speaking - I start getting eggs near February. I don't have electricity at the coop. This year I have thought about adding battery light, but have not yet.

I check every day. Chickens drive you nuts.

 

[stonneeeee]

I have 2 4 foot led shop lights on a timer, 1 in the coop, 1 on the outside, it is on solar, They use 1 kwh for every 3 days.
End of November, 22 hens were laying about 4 to 6 eggs a day without added light
Using the added light, 17 eggs today out of 22 hens
Using added light will use up the hens faster, they only have so many eggs to lay in their lifetime
I am going to add pullets we have hatched and cull hens every year

 

[3KillerBs]

Over the past 2 weeks I've gone up from 3 eggs per day from 19 hens to 5-6 eggs per day.

I *think* the July girls are starting since the eggs are small, but it could be the earlier molters getting going again.

But I also have a homebrewed Olive Egger who hatched on Easter who has yet to lay her first egg (lazy freeloader!).