When will my chickens start laying and will winter affect the timing
When will my chickens start laying and will winter affect the timing
- Thread starter MoototheCluck88
- Start date
They lay when their bodies are ready to lay, and not a day earlier.
Across the board, chickens begin to lay a 6 months of age. Some begin earlier at 5 months, and some later at 7 months. Individuals mature at different rates and different breeds are bred to perform differently.
As for winter, it is the lack of daylight hours, now in fall, that effect them the most. On Dec 22, in the northern hemisphere, the days will again grow longer. By February, the days are long enough for most birds to resume laying.
You can provide supplement lighting by having a light in their coop, run by a timer, and operate it from 4 am to 8 am each day to provide the necessary light "therapy". That is each flock keepers choice.
Across the board, chickens begin to lay a 6 months of age. Some begin earlier at 5 months, and some later at 7 months. Individuals mature at different rates and different breeds are bred to perform differently.
As for winter, it is the lack of daylight hours, now in fall, that effect them the most. On Dec 22, in the northern hemisphere, the days will again grow longer. By February, the days are long enough for most birds to resume laying.
You can provide supplement lighting by having a light in their coop, run by a timer, and operate it from 4 am to 8 am each day to provide the necessary light "therapy". That is each flock keepers choice.
- Thread starter
- #3
They are all about 3 months old. Can't wait for them to lay
Thanks.
Thanks.
Yeah you've got a while to go yet. The wait is pure torture too. Just give them time. By Feb/March they should be ready. Perfect timing as the days are getting longer.
- Thread starter
- #5
They are all now 4 1/2 months old. No eggs yet, but we're ready to fry the first one. I hope there's not a chick in it.
Ditto what Fred said.
You have a while to wait yet.
You have a while to wait yet.
- Thread starter
- #7
Yesterday we finally got our first egg!
Congrats on the 1st egg! We're in a similar situation. Around Christmas (at 5 months age) the girls' combs turned red & they started squatting when being pet. (BTW- In Northern IL, this winter's been especially brutal!) Two pullets started laying in the middle of the first Artic blast with -30'F temps, and each lay 5-6 eggs/week. The rest of the pullets now over 28 weeks have yet to give us a single egg. I never added supplemental light, since they weren't old enough to lay at the start of winter. They are Mutts / Easter eggers, so I have no breed info to go on. My husbands jokes if he's not going to get eggs for breakfast he'll be having chicken for dinner.
They all mature at their own rates and will lay when their bodies are ready.
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