winter eggs

[kwynn's birds Alaska]

farming for me was slow last summer, for many busy reasons...and i had been giving the hens a break for the winter. that meaning that they have no extra light in their coop to keep up egg production. I was under the impression that chickens needed 12-14 hours of light a day.

I live in alaska...
December and January are the darkest months of the year.
I have 16 hens. 6 of those are black Australorps...about a year and a half old
Last week, I found eggs! I was so excited.

Now I have been getting 2 a day, from 2 of the Australorps
does this sort of thing happen all the time? Does any one else have 'Freak 'chickens?
(freak is not a bad thing here

)

 

[scooter147]

Yep, it sure does.
I have 24 hens and just started 14 hours of light in the coop this past week. I always like to give my hens a "break" for about a month or so. During December and thus far in January with 24 hens I average about 6 eggs a day.

 

[okieroy]

I've got some freak birds too. I currently have 7 laying hens. Since the big snow storm is over, I have been getting 6 to 7 eggs a day. I do not provide any extra light. I thought I would just let them rest.
For the last couple of days, I have been bringing in 8 eggs at night. Go figure. Someone is doing double duty.

 

[PandoraTaylor]

Yep they do funny things when we least expect it.