temperature for hens to lay

[jack123]

i have a shed that is heated by 250 watt lamp 24/7 days a week
and individual 60 watt lamps in each secition .. my hens have not laid yet ... it's about 60 degrees inside .. it's also winter here with shorter days ..

i was wandering what the ideal temperature for the hens to lay?

any info would be great thanks !

 

[gardener]

I think it has more to do with daylight hours. Like 14 hours or more of light per day.

How old are your hens? they generally start laying 4 to 6 months of age.

 

[jack123]

thanks for the help .. i got one that's two years old and one that is 10 months ..

 

[Motel Chix]

jack123,
Gardner is right. Amount of daylight hours is what keeps them laying all winter long. They will slow down in all extremes but a young hen should lay all winter. I have a new 15 watt florescent flood light with 65 watts of light output on a cheap $5.00 timer set to come on at 5:00 am. the florescent bulbs start out very low and get brighter in a few minutes. Let them go to roost naturally as the sun sets. Had hundereds of chickens when I was a kid and now have a mix of about 40 Hens and 1 Roo. I get about 30 eggs a day, some are older ones. I never have heated a hen house, they produce a lot of heat if you have a few together for body heat. If you have only 2-4 hens you should just a have a smaller coop for them to help hold there heat in.
Good luck.

 

[gardener]

You said they havent laid yet, so at that age I guess you just got them? they might need some adjustment from just being moved and settle in to a new environment before they start laying again, if that is the case.
You probably shouldnt have to heat your coop at that age either.

 

[jack123]

thanks for the info guys .. yea i just got the hen not too long ago .. i got one about two and half weeks ago and one about one week ago .. so i'm thinking maybe they need the time to adjust to my place ..

the older hen is starting to make her nest already .. digging into the hay .. so hopefully that is a good sign .. i'm tryin to produce
baby chicks and not eggs to eat ..