No eggs, how to kick start?

[Ted Brown]

I have ten 3ish year old hens, VERY few eggs summer onward. They moulted, short burst in September then back to basically nothing.

I have chickens to have eggs so will cull non layers.

I have never added light, will this kick start production? Correct way to add light?

Thanks

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Hello, Ted! I have a few thoughts for you:

Your hens may very well be aging out. Depending on breed, conditions, etc. many will stop laying after 2-3 years of age, or at least slow down significantly. Every time they molt, egg production is reduced by about half. You will need to add new layers every year to keep egg production consistent.

You could add light, and see if it helps them a bit longer. Any light will do. Some use timers and add light hours in the morning, or evening, or both.

And I LOVE this post - it's the best explanation I've read:

Chickens have a pineal gland in their brains, as humans do. This gland detects light, and it's extremely sensitive to amounts of light. It's what regulates our sleep patterns and syncs sleep with wakefulness. This gland in chickens does that, but it also dictates to the endocrine system when to begin laying. Even a blind chicken reacts to light through the pineal gland.

Chickens, having been around for thousands of years, have perfected their reproduction to coincide with spring when tender shoots are coming up that will feed their offspring. That's when most wild animals reproduce, and it takes advantage of this appearance of food in spring to feed their young.

After we reach December 21, the sun will then begin to shift north again. This results in incrementally longer days. The pineal gland senses this and sends a signal to the hen's ovary to begin releasing yolks. It takes around two or three weeks after solstice for the hen's reproductive system to get the message from the pineal gland and to start egg production.

You can expect eggs to appear again by the middle of January, and by February for sure.

 

[Mrs. K]

I agree, a lot of people post on here about extremely old birds still laying. But that has not been my experience. In my experience - a 3 year old bird will have a few eggs, 1-3 times per week, and only during prime laying time. A 4 year old bird is old and cranky to me. Let them go, get chicks each year.

 

[Ted Brown]

@BarnyardChaos thanks for the share!

 

[Mrs. K]

But to be honest - I have 5 pullets in the coop right now, that are suppose to be laying and I got nada!

 

[I Love Feather Babies]

I have ten 3ish year old hens, VERY few eggs summer onward. They moulted, short burst in September then back to basically nothing.

I have chickens to have eggs so will cull non layers.

I have never added light, will this kick start production? Correct way to add light?

Thanks

This is the time of year when laying slows down. Mine take a 2 month vacation. I for one think my girls deserve a break after providing eggs the rest of the year. I am getting about 8 eggs a day because I had some young hens start to lay in October and they haven’t figured out it’s vacation time.

 

[aart]

I am getting about 8 eggs a day because I had some young hens start to lay in October and they haven’t figured out it’s vacation time.

That's because many pullets lay thru their first winter....and why it's good to get new chicks every year if you want year round egg production.

 

[Ted Brown]

@aart Ya, I finally figured out the obvious.

 

[Mrs. K]

Aart - that is the theory, I have even explained it to the girls, they just ignore me and cluck.

 

[aart]

Aart - that is the theory, I have even explained it to the girls, they just ignore me and cluck.

Yeah, I know.
It's crap shoot whether they will start laying before the light gets too low,
have had it work flawlessly and not at all.