Winter Layers? REALLY?

[stormylady]

Quote:
That exactly why I don't give mine artificial light either, I want my girls to do it as natural as possible and lay as long as they can. I don't heat the coop because I think it is actually harder on them coming out of a nice warm coop into the fridgid air out side. I had an outside dog for 20 yrs and the last couple was very hard for him, so I started bringing him in on the super cold nights, I don't keep my house very warm in the winter but when I brought him in he was miserable panting like he was dying of the heat. Then take him out the next morning and he would shiver and shake and just simply freeze. I can't imagine it would be much different for the chickens, and they do fine in the winter without it anyway.

 

[globug44203]

I have special reds or as some call them production reds and I was getting 7 eggs from 8 hens, that is until they all decided to moult at the same time...we were down to no eggs until they all got their winter feathers...I am one of the people that spoil their chickens...we have a red light in our coop all the time but we also have 12 6 week old peeps in the coop also....we also have a temp gauge in our coop to make sure the the temp stays normal for our babies....

 

[1muttsfan]

I love to raise chicks, so each summer I rehome most of my adult hens and keep some of the new ones. Without lights I would get pretty poor production from the hens over the time I have them. People are happy to get year-old layers, and I get my chick fix every year. Before I started my hatching obsession I kept my hens longer, and did not use lights. Using lights does not hurt hens, but they will lay for fewer years overall if you use them regularly - they lay the same number of eggs, but over a shorter number of years.

 

[emerald eyes]

I don't use lights or heat my coop. The coop seems to be quite warm in the winter with all the extra bodies. I got pullets last year in May, they laid like champs all summer, then in winter they slowed down. I figured the decrease in the light and the cold had any effect, as they were back to laying like champs by spring. This year, the hens that survived all the predators (3 in total) are taking a break from laying. I thought about supplementing their light, but I want the laying to be natural and unenhanced. I don't want to jeopardize the health or egg production of the hens, to get a few extra eggs. My family usually collects a few extra dozen that I give away or are not sure what exactly to do with, so the decrease is actually a blessing so I can catch on eating the eggs before the spoil.

 

[johnsons-r-us]

I don't know about the breeds you have. I was told the breeds I have work well all winter and so far they have been great. We got them last Easter and I got 7 eggs from my 9 pullets yesterday....and it was 16 degrees this morning. They free range. From what I've read here first year pullets are supposed to not need a bunch of extra light to keep laying....but again, I have different breeds and people in my area told me they did well here.

 

[Katydid2011]

Look here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=423023

 

[Dead Rabbit]

if you use first yr. pullets they will generally lay through the first winter. adding light for 2 hrs minimum will greatly improve egg production. a hen has a set amount of eggs in her system. whether she lays most them in 2 yrs or 4 yrs matter not....

after first yr they will moult. to combat the moult you must add light. lighting or lack there of, is what instigates moult. im convinced heat has something to do with it too. but a good layer will handle the heat if fed correctly and kept in ideal healthy conditions. but they must have light no matter what after that first season of laying. i have golden comets and red sexlink. and couple of experiemental 1/2 rir X 1/2 rsl hens left over from a previous experiment. i have 17 layers total and average 15 eggs per day. i expect maximum production. i sell eggs that help supplement their feed costs. after the second yr sometimes yr 1/2 i replace them.

bottom line........add light to get them to lay. have a superior production breed such as white leghorns or the sexlink type layers to get maximum production. and feed them well.

 

[Texas Willie]

I have 12 Golden Sex Link girls that we got in late May when they were less than a week old. I built them a nice large coop and covered fenced outdoor run.

Our temps here are fairly moderate (with a couple of days this year in the 20's). I use lights in the coop and even have a red light for them at night.

They have been laying extremely well since they were about 20 weeks and we are getting a dozen eggs a day from them.

Their eggs have also been very nice size, with most being extra large and a few Jumbo eggs. The other day, I fixed myself some breakfast and used three eggs....All of them were Double Yolks

Since there are only 2 of us in the house (my wife and myself) we have been selling our eggs for $4/dozen (with a .50 cent credit if they bring a paper carton).....As our customer database grows, we will have to start turning people down who want to buy eggs from us.

I just wanted to share our experience with you folks!

TW

 

[StarLover21]

I've heard Salmon Faverolles are supposed to be good winter egg layers.

 

[Barnmaradotte]

Thanks for the responses everyone. After reading alot, and checking the signs I feel they are in transition to moult.I also noticed several others are showing sign but it was just so suttle it wasn't noticed. I will be ok. I will not put them on the light. Au natural.