Hi. My 4 hens, which are 2 Rhode Is. Reds, 1 Delaware and 1 Bantam (I think) are 18 weeks old today. So in theory they may start laying eggs in 2-3 weeks time. Which is also coinciding with the onset of fall/winter. I live in seattle where we are affected by limited sunlight hours during the winter. So my question is should I put a light on timer to trick them into thinking there's more sunlight then there actually is or will they still lay eggs just not as many through the winter. Thanks!!!
That's what I do. I have a light on a timer...though I don't know why I bother since the eggs usually end up frozen anyway.
the rhosde island reds are known to be hearty during the winter, but i dont know about the others., hope this helps.
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html This is a very good site for obtaining info on chickens... the RIRs will lay through the winter... as for the others not sure...