Our Layers (Question in post)

[KikiDeAnime]

When should our hens start laying/laying again?
When would an estimated time be?

We really need their eggs again soon.
We're getting sick of eating store bought eggs already!

We have 5 that will be 2 years old this spring and 3 that will be 1 year old. One of our yr old hens began laying during early summer and stopped once winter started.

The almost 2 year olds:
2 B sex links, 2 BLR Wyandottes, and 1 Silkie/Cochin mix.

The almost 1 year olds:
1 Red sex link and 2 Cochin Bantams.

We also have a Blue Wyandotte who is almost 22 weeks old.
She will be 22 weeks old on Saturday.

 

[justin24]

The 1 year olds and the 22 week old baby girl will start laying early as March that’s what happens with me and ur older girls may start a lil later just because wen they get older they lay less

 

[fur-mum]

All depends on the lighting and the individual bird. Things I've read say at least 12 hrs of light for layers, but we don't have that here in Oklahoma, and I get some eggs sporadically. Not regularly though. You're much farther north so your days will be even shorter for now. You can supplement with lights (I know nothing about that as I don't provide extra light) or just wait for their bodies to start again when the sun sticks around longer. No definite answers for you though as for specific days. Very much depends on the birdie.

 

[rebrascora]

My girls gradually started up a day before the winter solstice and I have birds that range from 6 months to 6 years. I have 11 in my main layer flock and I am getting an average of 4 a day at the moment but the older girls will not necessarily lay every day at their age. Combs have become plump and red on almost all of them though and I know from the egg colours and shapes that I am getting that most of them have started producing.

Interestingly I have started giving them a warm mash or fermented feed meal later in the evening (anywhere from 8pm onwards) and they all started up not long after that and really enjoy their midnight feast. There is another thread where we were just discussing this management system and both of us who have been independently doing it find that our chucks seem to enjoy it. If you think about it, during the summer they can eat from 3 or 4am until 10 pm.... assuming they have a feeder in the coop. In winter when it is dark for so long they fill up with food at 4pm before they go to roost but most of that will be going through their system by 10 pm, so giving them the opportunity to top up their crop at 8 or 9pm means that more nutrients are going through their system in a 24hr period and that means that perhaps there is more to put into producing eggs. We put a light on for about an hour to let them eat and enjoy spending time interacting with them in the coop during this time as it is hard to find time during the day to observe and socialise with them. So far (and I have been doing this for a couple of years during the winter), there has not been an obvious drawback. Chickens have started laying and don't seem stressed. It may just be a coincidence but more food through their system means they can come back up to reproductive weight quicker.

 

[KikiDeAnime]

Update:
Forgot to post an update on Saturday! Saturday thru today, we've had warm sunny days and I noticed one of our Bantam Cochin girls digging around in the nesting box.
It looks like starting next Friday(Jan 25th) until Monday(Jan 28th), we'll have warm sunny days again.