PLEASE HELP!! WHEN DO CHICKENS USUALLY STOP LAYING!!

[The4Chickeneers]

Hi BYCers!

I was wondering when chickens usually stop laying eggs. I have four chickens (blue cochin, buff orpington, silver wyendotte, PPR) and now only my silver wyendotte is laying. they are two years old this spring, and since they (besides the silver wyendotte) have stopped laying, I was wondering if this is natural or just because of the extreme cold. NOTE: I live in MN, and in case you don't know, we are having our 3rd coldest winter ON RECORD. For a few nights we had to move them to a dog carrier in my garage.

please give me your feedback! I need to know so that I can decide whether or not to replace my chickens with four new chicks. do they normally stop laying eggs after 2 years or not? if not, is it the cold? Thank you all so much!!!

 

[sourland]

Shortened day length probably caused your hens to take a break from laying. The breeds that you mention should be good for several more years and will restart laying as day length increases. It's always a good idea to add 2 or 3 new pullets and phase out non productive birds on an annual basis.

 

[The4Chickeneers]

Shortened day length probably caused your hens to take a break from laying. The breeds that you mention should be good for several more years and will restart laying as day length increases. It's always a good idea to add 2 or 3 new pullets and phase out non productive birds on an annual basis.

thank you very much! Daylight savings time begins this sunday, so i'm glad to hear that my birds will start relaying

. of the breeds I have, which one do you think will stop laying first?

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hens will lay fewer eggs each year, they usually lay the most at ages 1&2, then gradually lay about 10% less each year, the rule of thumb seems to be that a hen will lay about half the number of eggs at age five as she did at a year old. So your Wyandotte and Orps will probably always lay more eggs per year than your Cochin. Most people who have chickens mostly for egg production will have the hens under lights in the winter to keep them laying (older hens need about 14 hours of light a day to lay eggs or they take a long break from laying like sourland said) and cull the hens when they are about 2.5 years old when they go into their second molt... chickens don't lay eggs while they are molting so that is a good time to cull them. Here is a good overview article on egg production
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps029

 

[The4Chickeneers]

Hens will lay fewer eggs each year, they usually lay the most at ages 1&2, then gradually lay about 10% less each year, the rule of thumb seems to be that a hen will lay about half the number of eggs at age five as she did at a year old. So your Wyandotte and Orps will probably always lay more eggs per year than your Cochin. Most people who have chickens mostly for egg production will have the hens under lights in the winter to keep them laying (older hens need about 14 hours of light a day to lay eggs or they take a long break from laying like sourland said) and cull the hens when they are about 2.5 years old when they go into their second molt... chickens don't lay eggs while they are molting so that is a good time to cull them. Here is a good overview article on egg production
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps029

okay, thanks! yes, I keep my chickens under a heat lamp during the cold months. some of my chickens have already begun/finished their second molt and they're not even 2 yet. that's good to know though! thanks again!!!!!