Hi, I have three hens that are of egg laying age. We already had three pullets that we got from a neighbor, so we have 6 total now. We got the new hens about 8 weeks ago. I was so excited to get my first egg. I didn't see which one it came from but it was fun to finally get an egg. I got two eggs a couple days later and then a cold snap hit, so I figured the hens would stop laying. So, about a week and a half went by and we got one more egg. That's it! I had expected the eggs to slow down because of the cold but it will now be 7 weeks and we haven't gotten a single egg. What do you think about this? Should there be eggs in this weather or should I not expect them until the spring? They have the right amount of protein in their diet. I was thinking about giving them more calcium, do you think that will help? Is there anything else they need to start laying?
Do you have a light in their house on a timer for 12-14 hours of light each day? Chickens naturally take a laying break through the months of short days, but will continue to lay if you trick their brains and hormones with extra light at the beginning of the day.
Chickens take a break in the winter. Some will lay eggs all winter, but a lot won't. You can just wait until spring, or, if you want eggs now, put a light in their coop to simulate summer sunshine.
I don't mind waiting, I just didn't know if the "break" lasted all winter. I don't have a light in the coop currently, but if I did want to install one, what kind do they need? How long should it be on ? Morning/night?
We had 2 bantams that went broody in September and then straight after went into a moult. They still aren't laying around 4 months later. However, in October we got a full size hybrid pullet hen - and her first egg was actually on the shortest day of Winter! I think the bantams will probably not start again until Spring but our other hen has layed every day so far without any extra light! I think breed plays a huge part in this. To answer your question, chickens usually need around 14 hours of sunlight a day to believe its egg laying season. So you probably want to time it so that the light is on from 6am to about 8pm (or adjust that to fit your lifestyle better). On the other hand, you could just let them have a rest through the Winter. Its all about preference really - but I totally understand that going out in the cold on Winter mornings to sort them out is easier if you know that you have a fresh egg waiting for you for breakfast!
