not laying

[Kt S C]

I have 8 chickens and I normally get 3-6 eggs a day. The last 2 days i have only gotten 2 eggs. Northing has changed except the weather as it has started to get colder. I live in upstate NY. Could the cold weather be the reason for less eggs?

 

[The-White-Elephant]

Yes, the cold weather is most likely the issue. They make less if it is colder outside. Sometimes, the chickens take breaks, so you can also get less eggs then

 

[Kt S C]

Yes, the cold weather is most likely the issue. They make less if it is colder outside. Sometimes, the chickens take breaks, so you can also get less eggs then

Yes, the cold weather is most likely the issue. They make less if it is colder outside. Sometimes, the chickens take breaks, so you can also get less eggs then

Thank you. I am new to this as this is my first winter having chickens

 

[rosemarythyme]

It's more the lack of daylight that causes them to slow or stop laying, though some other factors can also come into play.

 

[aart]

It's more the lack of daylight that causes them to slow or stop laying, though some other factors can also come into play.

Ditto Dat!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've noticed that changes in weather can cause a temporary change in egg laying, either a heat wave or a cold wave. Other changes can cause a temporary change too. Your sample size is only two days and the change is pretty quick so I suspect something like that is the immediate cause.

Right now your days are about as short as they will get, the winter solstice isn't far away. The change in day length day-to-day isn't great. Where you are that is probably less than 2 minutes a day right now. I don't think that is enough to cause a sudden change in egg laying.

I agree that the shorter days of winter can cause a drop in flock productivity even if it doesn't cause a molt for different reasons. But your sudden change argues for some other cause. Egg production may come back, maybe not.