Topic of the Week - Winter Egg Laying

[icanhazchikn]

Lighting questions often come up.

Posted this on other threads, hope it helps:

There are a lot of opinions on supplementing light to keep the chickens laying during time period where there is less than 12-14 hours of available daylight.

My coop gets ~16 hours of light now 365 days per year.
My birds seem to molt regardless.

Having had to install electricity for the thermostatically controlled water heater, I took advantage and installed a lighting system.

My system has two timers. The first is set to turn the lights on at 5am, off at 9pm.
This timer also is used as the to power my heated nest boxes when called for.
For the lights, timer goes on, power passes through a photocell, then to a 300 lumen LED bulb, 4.8 watts, in the coop, and 2 - 4.8 watt LEDs for the outside run.
These bulbs are considered warm, around 3000k, which my research lends me to believe are best suited for stimulating the pineal gland.
I light the outdoor run because I found the birds huddled outside the coop door in the dark one 5:30am morning...
They have access to the run 24/7, as it is as secure as the coop.

The lights are on only when it is dark enough outside to be necessary (photocell).
The time on very closely mimics my Summer Solstice.

The second timer is set to go on at 8:30pm, off at 9:30pm, a diffused 200 lumen LED 4 watt bulb.
This low light allows the birds to settle in before all lights out.

I have used this method for a few years now, works well, some of my flock members are >9 years old now... all seem happy and unstressed.

This system costs less than $10 per year to operate.


My coop was designed to hold ~25 to 30 birds comfortably.

I started with 6, and add 2 or 3 per year for egg production. I gift 90% of my eggs.

I do not cull... these are "pets" that produce compost, my main objective.
I currently have a dozen or so birds, I started replacing heritage breeds with hybrids, they do not seem to have the same life expectancy as the heritage breeds. My numbers have never exceeded 15.


I have not had to deal with frozen eggs in years...
Heat the nesting boxes to stop eggs from freezing.


I have not had to deal with frozen water in years...
Forever Water Heater one that lasts.
Unfrozen Nipple Watering for those cold days.


I do nothing for winter preparation, everything is on autopilot

 

[Artichoke Lover]

I don’t supplement with extra light. I don’t think it’s healthy for the hens. I usually hatch out new some new layers each spring to ensure I have eggs through winter. My climate is fairly mild so I rarely have problems with eggs freezing.

 

[AgnesGray]

- Do or don't you supplement light to keep your hens in production over winter?
No, I don't. I do however keep the lights on in the coops when the sun is up which I've found to boost egg laying. If the sun is naturally out, no hens should be hanging out in a dark coop missing out on light hours, IMO.

- Are there other ways to ensure your flock stays productive, for example by replenishing the layers with young hens yearly?
We have added some summer chicks every year. We also blend their feed part layer feed and part turkey starter for an extra protein boost that gets them through molt faster and for the times they need an extra boost of protein.

- What do you do to prevent the eggs from freezing in the nest boxes, especially the folks that can't collect them in a timely manner.
We do deep litter in the coop over winter. It composts and heats the space up a good 10-15F warmer than it is outside. That is sometimes still below freezing and the eggs will crack, but for the most part that's enough to keep it above freezing in the coop.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

No supplement light. No heating. Although I have part transparent roofing sheets and sides of coop that allow lots of natural light in and also helps warm the coop when it's sunny.

I allow broodies to raise some chicks early Spring and usually the pullets will start laying just before Winter then lay all through Winter. All my chickens are Silkies so they don't start laying till about 7 months old.

I've never had a frozen egg, I regularly check for eggs.

 

[LizzzyJo]

No Light, no heat. 5 new pullet girlies that are giving one egg in total every 4 days or so. lol. Almost everyone is molting and lookin like drown rats anyway!

How do you guys store your eggs? I made and froze a bunch of quiche, but I would love to hear how you guys do it!

 

[jBabychickn]

View attachment 2902740

Winter is a time of the year when eggs are in short supply for many of us, though some troopers, like two of my hens, are laying like its Spring still. Many find though that their hens slow down or stop laying completely when the days get too short. And the eggs that do make it down the tubes are sometimes frozen before we get a chance to collect them! This week I'd like to hear from you about winter egg laying and egg dilemmas. Specifically...

- Do or don't you supplement light to keep your hens in production over winter?
- Are there other ways to ensure your flock stays productive, for example by replenishing the layers with young hens yearly?
- What do you do to prevent the eggs from freezing in the nest boxes, especially the folks that can't collect them in a timely manner.
- Tips for keeping winter layers happy and healthy?

For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

Hey BYC Family!
I just wanted to chime in and say how extremely proud I am of my 5 little Silkie girls!!
This is their 2nd Winter. They started laying last Winter in early January, at around 5 1/2 months of age. — They are around 14mos old right now. They laid 4 eggs for me yesterday!!
4 out of 5 hens!!
I’m just so proud of them.
My happy girls!

- I don’t supplement with light or any heat.
I’m only a small backyard flock now. I have the 5 Silkie Hens and it will need to stay that way due to the size of our yard. I want them to have plenty of room; I have to keep my chicken maths in control
- I suppose that is something I am doing for them… Making sure our Hens have a large amount of roaming space with lots of boredom busters to try and distract them from the lack of sun, how early the days will end and how nighttime sneaks up way too soon - Ha!
- I recently caught a toddlers sandbox On Sale and set that up for them with a mixture of Peet moss and a bit of Construction sand. (I add in 1st Saturday Lime to let them dust themselves with that as well from time to time)
- We’ve also added fodder boxes (they are loving the sprouts!)
- My Hubs built them two small 3-sided structures for extra coverage around the yard to break up the cold winds. — I’ve already seen them enjoying those warmer corners from inside those structures. It’s important that they have the ability to make themselves warm/warmer when they so choose to. I believe that having that access, that choice makes for happy, healthy chickens.
They of course can always run back to their covered run/coop area too, but I don’t know if it’s a Silkie thing, but I swear sometimes I think they’d rather stand out in the weather on purpose… Ha!
- Lastly, I’m lucky to be home during the day, so checking for eggs frequently isn’t a problem, also my girls are crazy good at singing their egg songs when they lay. This way, I’m instantly signaled to come out there, collect, and celebrate along with them. I’m very blessed!

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

- Do or don't you supplement light to keep your hens in production over winter?
- Are there other ways to ensure your flock stays productive, for example by replenishing the layers with young hens yearly?
- What do you do to prevent the eggs from freezing in the nest boxes, especially the folks that can't collect them in a timely manner.
- Tips for keeping winter layers happy and healthy?

—Supplemental light?
I do not use supplemental light but I am considering adding a string of lights in the run to make it less gloomy. If the light increases production of eggs then I am ok with that as I am not convinced it would harm the girls any more than it would by supplying oyster shell to those NOT laying.

—Ensuring production in winter?
It is not essential for my girls to supply eggs all winter but if they do then great. All of my girls are less than a yr old. 3/6 are still laying about 2 eggs a week; 3 at POL. I have intentions on replenishing layers every 2-3 years.

—How to handle freezing eggs?
To prevent eggs from freezing I will have seedling starter heat mats on a timer from morning to early afternoon when I can collect the eggs. I will begin to use them once temps are consistently in the 20’s.
If I am unsuccessful with the seedling mats for whatever reason or when I have power outages (coop is not on generator) I will also block off 1 of 3 nests until the days are notably longer and more nests are needed. My rationale is that the few girls that are laying will sit on eggs already in the two nest and delay freezing. There is also a risk of egg breakage if production ramps up so I will need to monitor for this closely.

—Tips for happy, healthy chickens.
I think my girls are pretty happy and healthy. They run to me or hubs when we’re out, and are very chatty. I clean the run and poop boards every day and stir the litter a couple times a week to fluff (it takes minutes a day). I am a believer in spending quality time with my animals. I socialize with the birds for at least a half hour; often one of my dogs will hang out with the girls near the run on nice days.
I provide All flock with oyster shell on the side while they are still laying and they have fresh water heated with an thermostat controlled stock tank deicer. They get a handful of cracked corn/ mealworms a couple of times a week, and on my days off I will make them a warm mash. I will be growing barley grass for fodder beginning in Dec until the snow melts to supplement micronutrients and as a boredom buster. They have lots of run activities, perch points, and dust bath in the run, plus the option to free range via an auto pop door to an electric fenced area. I lay down wood chips outside as needed to keep their tootsies comfortable. They even have a Christmas tree attached to a large spool table (up all year) with a wind blocked southern exposure. I would love to find a chicken angel for the top

 

[ChickyWhicky]

I have a young flock, under a year old and they are still laying per normal.

I do supplement light in coop, they have a red light that is on from dusk til dawn. Its on all year round, so nothing special.

Only thing I have done differently is I now allow them into my machine shed & unattached garages at will. The floors are dirt so they can go in and scratch around when there is snow on the ground. Other than that, nothing special. Maybe they get a little more scratch on chilly mornings.

They seem to be pretty hardy and unphased by the Iowa cold so far. I have heard several people in my area note their eggs have slowed down... Maybe Im just lucky?

 

[Chicken poppy]

I don’t use extra light. My tip is just don’t force it. Let it be a natural thing. Natural is best after all, and it always tastes better that way.

 

[Bone Bunny]

This is my first year with chickens. I started in March with 6 brahma chicks and, unfortunately for the neighbors, I'm up to 17 of various ages.

My pullets started laying in Sept, and was laying at least 1 egg per the 4 older hens a day and all of a sudden they just quit in oct. I thought they were laying somewhere else and have searched the yard with no luck.

They have access to all flock feed and oyster shell are provided 24/7 and 2 cups of scratch I spread out over the yard every morning. Recently, I have been taking out a cans of meat for them. They love tuna and sardines, but not Vienna sausages. and slowly but surely I have been seeing eggs again, but only 1 a day between all of them. I also started a mealworm farm, but haven't been able to produce them fast enough yet.

I don't know how much meat I should be giving them a day and what is financially feasible. for example I cant afford a can a sardines every day until spring. I thought i shoud switch them over to layer feed. However, I have to watch carefully because 2 of the roosters are still growing and eat like a 15 year old boy. I read that layer feed could harm my roosters if they eat it daily.

I do not have electricity so no fake light source. I don't know how I feel about that as I was trying to keep it as natural as possible for them.

I am scouring this forum for more information, but any advice is always welcome.