Winter egg laying

[Suedan]

imagine if you didn't find them

You'd have an army!

That is soooo funny!

 

[Jedstar]

My RSL are a year old and they are still laying, I see why they don't live long. The others are new to laying, they all started in the summer. I added 4 chicks today (5 weeks) to the layer flock so I'll have new layers in the spring. Integration went too well. Thought the Jersey Giant Cockerels would be mean, but they walked over to them and walked away. They even shared their scraps with them today.

Thanks for the information! I figure if I keep adding every winter, I'll always have layers the next winter.

Hello. Hey you say you put your 5 week old chicks in with your layers. Is it okay for them to eat adult layer scratch mix at like that age. Because I want to put mine in with my layers and adult rooster. Mine are some 8 weeks and some 3 months. I've got mine in a pen next to the adults and I'm feeding the young ones pullet grower mix.

 

[FortCluck]

Hello. Hey you say you put your 5 week old chicks in with your layers. Is it okay for them to eat adult layer scratch mix at like that age. Because I want to put mine in with my layers and adult rooster. Mine are some 8 weeks and some 3 months. I've got mine in a pen next to the adults and I'm feeding the young ones pullet grower mix.

I feed mine Purina flock raiser which is suitable for all ages of poultry. I don't feed layer feed. I feed them their egg shells for calcium to make nice eggs.

I wouldn't recommend feeding layer feed to young chicks because it isn't made for chicks. I would switch your feed to all flock or flock raiser.

 

[Jedstar]

I feed mine Purina flock raiser which is suitable for all ages of poultry. I don't feed layer feed. I feed them their egg shells for calcium to make nice eggs.

I wouldn't recommend feeding layer feed to young chicks because it isn't made for chicks. I would switch your feed to all flock or flock raiser.
[Okay. I'm not sure they have that but I will ask. Thanks. Didn't know that there was a feed like that.

 

[Jedstar]

Sorry. I'll ask for that.not sure if they have that. Yeah found out on google today that not to let chicks in with adults and eat there food.

 

[Madie'sOddFlock]

We feed out a lot of cracked corn and black oil sunflower seeds on top of our layer feed, which keeps them laying with or without the light. They do a couple of eggs a day better with light(but that's pretty insignificant given that we have 100+ hens). But the snow also keeps them in the coop more so they don't hide their eggs all winter so sometimes we get more in the winter than we do in summer.

 

[Secondof9]

I do not use lighting or heat. We usually have mild winters, not very many days below freezing. My Buff Orpington who will be 2 in May has been laying steadily 6 eggs a week. She only took a break last Spring and Summer when she went broody 4 times!!! I finally got chicks and stuffed under her, which are now my other 3 from August 2019. The little bantam Polish, Ruby (my avatar) began laying the cutest tiny eggs the first week of January 2020 at a rate of 6 per week. The Barnevelder, Barnie, began laying last week and so far is giving me 6 eggs a week also! My little white Silkie, Snowflake, has not begun to lay yet...but that's not why I have her. She's a leftover from a friend and just so sweet.

 

[MaryJanet]

I want to know how many see a significant decrease in eggs in the winter.

I have 8 layers and I'm still getting 5 eggs a day and I don't consider this a significant decrease. If I went down to less than 3 then I'd consider it significant.

Also comment if you use supplemental lighting... I don't

I don't use lighting. I fing eggs increase once the late summer to autumn moult is complete.

Where we live, the winters almost never go below freezing.

 

[sdm111]

No eggs Octoberish till February. Very slow August and September

 

[Akm78]

First year with chickens. 16 pullets. Started laying August 14. No light in coop. Pretty far North. Buy September 4 up to 10-14 eggs per day. November 10 dropped to 6-9 per day. December 1 the 5 Easter Eggers stopped laying and 3-6 per day. Jan 17- February 13 down to 0-1 egg a day. Valentines got 2 a day again.

5 EE, 4 SLW, 3 RIR, 3 black sex link, 1 Speckled Sussex