Will pullets wait till spring?

[newchicksnducks]

I have 15 chickens - 3 at 24 weeks, 7 at 19 weeks, and 5 at 14 weeks. Only one of the 24 weeks (EE) is laying, and has been for 3 weeks. My husband has talked to a couple of people who have chickens and they recommend adding light to simulate longer daylight hours, saying this will help bring the other girls into egg production. If I don't add the light, will this mean I'll likely have to wait until spring for the others to lay eggs? I have EE, BO, BA, Sussex, GLW, Giant Jersey (who I know will take longer to mature), and Dominiques. Thanks!

 

[BawkinOnTheBench]

Yes, I think those are pretty much the choices. Last year, we had the same situation - just as the pullets got close to laying age, the days were getting short. We added light, and less than 10 days later (on Halloween!) they started laying, and they kept up all winter. We didn't make sure it was 14 hours - we just turned on the light as soon as we woke up around 5, and it was enough.

 

[txchickie]

Maybe, maybe not.

I have 20 week old pullets that are not yet laying, but honestly I am not expecting any eggs till spring. If I do get eggs I will be thrilled, but I'm not keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[msjones]

I'm with you. My girls are 21 weeks, no eggs yet, and I sure hope that light in the coop will make a difference. We don't want to wait until spring!

Up here in the PNW our winters get dark -- only 8 hours of light for much of December/Jan. For now we're using a flashlight in our teeny tiny coop -- I just turn it on in the early evening and turn it off at bedtime. I have no idea whether that's enough light to make a difference, but it's easy enough, so it's worth a try. We're hoping to get our acts together and get a real light out there one of these weekends.

Hope you find an egg soon!