Winter egg laying

[Norm2475]

I bought my chicks in July and was told they would lay in about four months. Some people are telling me they wont lay until next spring. Can I add a light or heat or something to get them to lay in the winter months?

 

[wjallen05]

What breed(s) are they?

My Buff Orpington hens are 8 months old and are laying every other day. All my others are 14-20 weeks and are not laying. I keep a 60 w lamp on them during the night. Not sure if that makes a difference or not, but I do it anyway.

 

[Chickie Mamma]

Hello, I have a light on from 5:00pm to 10:00pm (might be a little too long) but my girls started laying again

They stopped laying in October and I thought there was something wrong. 2 weeks now with the "extra" light and we are laying again. Can't hurt to try right?? I have heard alot of success with the light.

 

[Mrs.Puff]

They must have enough light to lay. That means at least 13 or 14 hours, for the best laying. Also, some breeds mature slower than others. Are you feeding them layer ration? If you feed them too much "treats" they can get fat and fat hens don't lay. Maybe you should post what breed they are. You'll probably see them start to lay soon. Maybe an egg here or there, and then come spring they'll lay full bore.

 

[LynneP]

We put light in the coop from 5 am-8am and we're still getting eggs. It's usually 10 or 11 a day from 12 hens. If you use light, be sure to offset it from the roosts so the girls don't get comb or feather burn.

 

[Mrs.Puff]

Chickie Mamma-- How bright is the light you have? I don't have electricity, so lighting is a problem for me, but I might be able to go solar.

What if I bought like one of those 6 or 8 packs of solar landscaping lights, and put those on them each evening? They always fade out as night falls, so it would be like sunset, just later.

 

[Chickie Mamma]

I think I have a 40 watt bulb out there. I think any amount of light would be helpful. Its really dark in the woods here so it looks very bright when you look outside.

 

[Mrs.Puff]

yeah, we're in the timber too, so it gets dark a little earlier. I suppose I could ask Santa Mom for a set of those lights. Maybe a whole bunch might be bright enough. I have 9 hens old enough to lay, and get about 0-3 eggs a day.

Did you see my edit on the previous post?

 

[spatcher]

I am using 40w energy savers from 4 to 8 am and getting 10-12 a day from 12 hens (one started laying since the lights have been installed).

 

[Chickie Mamma]

Does it matter if the light is on in the morning or in the evening? Whats the difference?