Today's temperature = # of eggs.

[Gifa]

TammyN: Thank you for the idea, it has been so unbelievably windy that the plastic didn't hold up well, even the heavy gauge. I know I'll need to do something different next winter for sure, this is our first time with chickens so it's all a learning experience! I will check out that tarp on ebay you mentioned, (sometimes the shipping costs 2 x as much as the product to have things shipped from the U.S. to Canada). Have you tried the oatmeal or the sunflower heads? I think I will give the chickens some left over spaghetti tonight.

I've got my clear tarps from this Tarpaflex site last fall...

http://www.mytarp.com/clear-tarps-poly.aspx

They were running an incredible deal at the time and so I got a 10'x20', and two 7'x10' tarps for a total of $70 including shipping. So... do keep an eye out for bargains... I was just looking at the prices on both Ebay and Tarpaflex's site, and they are comparable, but still quite a bit more than what I paid for the exact same things.


But I can speak to their quality. I have mine zip tied all over my run and they work like a charm. They've been through 45-50 mph winds without budging very much at all and they keep about 98% of the moisture and wind out of their space the way I have it configured with the bottom open (we don't get huge drifts down here). I keep a couple bales of straw in there to provide a little extra protection from the wind around the bottom and a 6" layer of straw on the floor of the run to keep their feet off the ground directly. Here it is after a light dusting of snow from the outside, and where they like to hang out completely out of the wind in the inside. I even have a hanging basket that they like to use as a nest out there...

 

[Mykee]

The plastic around the run is such a good idea! And I love the perches and hanging basket.

 

[TennesseeChicken]

7 eggs and about 20*F, windy with snow showers.

Cayenne powder in the feed? Please explain....

I sprinkle some cayenne powder in the feed on cold mornings (usually if it's colder than 40d) because it helps to keep their body temps warmer so they lay more eggs. Or so I've been told by some of my Amish neigbors....

 

[ellymayRans]

Hi 27 today; 2 eggs from 3 laying hens so far today, this is usually the salmon fav's day off so we'll see
EE & BA reliable as ever!

 

[ellymayRans]

Love Love Love the hanging basket idea! Too cute!
It's always challenging to find "cute" decor because they are so inquisitive and enjoy most odd spaces...

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

41 F (5 C) today, and I got 12 eggs from 16 layers (16 Lohman Browns)

 

[Gifa]

I sprinkle some cayenne powder in the feed on cold mornings (usually if it's colder than 40d) because it helps to keep their body temps warmer so they lay more eggs. Or so I've been told by some of my Amish neigbors....

My hen's laying pattern has a lot more to do with what time they laid the day before and the number of hours between each egg produced... drastic temperature swings tend to throw them off a day or two... and I've also got one going through a 9 month mini-molt which has caused her to take a little extended break from laying... (Good for her!) But other than that... it's how many hours it takes them to make an egg and how many days in a row the length of day allows them to lay consecutively.

Example:

Date​

​

Low​

High​

​

Zoe​

Nandi​

Inara​

Kaylee​

Yolanda​

Saffron​

Bridget
1/27​

​

40°F​

65°F​

​

10:30am​

~​

3:15pm​

On Hiatus​

7:30am​

~​

1:45pm
1/28​

​

59°F​

74°F​

​

4:00pm​

~​

day off​

On Hiatus​

9:45am​

~​

day off
1/29​

​

33°F​

68°F​

​

day off​

~​

9:30am​

On Hiatus​

12:00pm​

~​

7:45am
1/30​

​

22°F​

33°F​

​

10:30am​

~​

4:15pm​

On Hiatus​

3:00pm​

~​

12:00pm
1/31​

​

8°F​

24°F​

​

4:00pm​

~​

day off​

On Hiatus​

day off​

~​

4:30pm
2/1​

​

4°F​

28°F​

​

day off​

~​

9:30am​

On Hiatus​

9:00am​

~​

day off
2/2​

​

26°F​

38°F​

​

9:30am​

~​

2:00pm​

~​

11:00am​

~​

8:45am
2/3​

​

27°F​

40°F​

​

3-4pm​

~​

day off?​

~​

2-3pm​

~​

12-1pm​

So... based off of my records... unless Kaylee decides to come off of her little hiatus (unlikely), or either of the two other pullets not laying decide to lay their first egg (keeping the expectations low), I'm sure to get 4 eggs today... tomorrow I'll get 3 (possibly 4)... none of which will come before noon, and the temps will be high enough overnight that I know their water won't be frozen when they come down off the roost in the morning... which means... I can sleep in tomorrow. I can also make a reasonable prediction for monday... I'm likely to get 2 eggs on monday... one from Inara (unless she lays very late tomorrow), and one from Bridget (maybe). Zoe and Yolanda are definitely off on Monday (unless Yolanda lays at 1pm tomorrow, then maybe I'll get one from her too).

 

[NestingHillsSC]

27 degrees. Got 9 from 13 hens. My Reds lay all winter. Seems the colder it is the more they lay.

 

[CinnamonQueen]

Three eggs, three hens, beautiful and at least 80 degrees outside. I love Texas winters

 

[TennesseeChicken]

My hen's laying pattern has a lot more to do with what time they laid the day before and the number of hours between each egg produced... drastic temperature swings tend to throw them off a day or two... and I've also got one going through a 9 month mini-molt which has caused her to take a little extended break from laying... (Good for her!) But other than that... it's how many hours it takes them to make an egg and how many days in a row the length of day allows them to lay consecutively.

Example:

Date​

​

Low​

High​

​

Zoe​

Nandi​

Inara​

Kaylee​

Yolanda​

Saffron​

Bridget
1/27​

​

40°F​

65°F​

​

10:30am​

~​

3:15pm​

On Hiatus​

7:30am​

~​

1:45pm
1/28​

​

59°F​

74°F​

​

4:00pm​

~​

day off​

On Hiatus​

9:45am​

~​

day off
1/29​

​

33°F​

68°F​

​

day off​

~​

9:30am​

On Hiatus​

12:00pm​

~​

7:45am
1/30​

​

22°F​

33°F​

​

10:30am​

~​

4:15pm​

On Hiatus​

3:00pm​

~​

12:00pm
1/31​

​

8°F​

24°F​

​

4:00pm​

~​

day off​

On Hiatus​

day off​

~​

4:30pm
2/1​

​

4°F​

28°F​

​

day off​

~​

9:30am​

On Hiatus​

9:00am​

~​

day off
2/2​

​

26°F​

38°F​

​

9:30am​

~​

2:00pm​

~​

11:00am​

~​

8:45am
2/3​

​

27°F​

40°F​

​

3-4pm​

~​

day off?​

~​

2-3pm​

~​

12-1pm​

So... based off of my records... unless Kaylee decides to come off of her little hiatus (unlikely), or either of the two other pullets not laying decide to lay their first egg (keeping the expectations low), I'm sure to get 4 eggs today... tomorrow I'll get 3 (possibly 4)... none of which will come before noon, and the temps will be high enough overnight that I know their water won't be frozen when they come down off the roost in the morning... which means... I can sleep in tomorrow. I can also make a reasonable prediction for monday... I'm likely to get 2 eggs on monday... one from Inara (unless she lays very late tomorrow), and one from Bridget (maybe). Zoe and Yolanda are definitely off on Monday (unless Yolanda lays at 1pm tomorrow, then maybe I'll get one from her too).

Funny you mention that as I have been thinking about that same thing! With 44 hens, I can't keep track like you do; I think that's great! I usually check for eggs between 12-1pm and then at closing time. Between 12-1pm, I get the majority of the eggs- at closing time I'll get anywhere from 6-9 eggs. I'm actually thinking about spending at least two days at the egg mobile and tagging the ones who are laying, so I have a better handle at what's going on in there! (and maybe do some culling, but I love all of my Ladies and so I don't know if I could really do that!) LOL