Winter layers.

[allabouttheeggs]

We got our chickens in April and May of this year (around the first week of April and first week of May) and from what I have read, they will be ready to lay in the fall/winter. We have a mixture of Americaunas, Rhode Island Reds, and Plymouth Rock. Is there anything special that would need to be done to encourage laying during the winter? They free range and go into the coop at night. We live in the Southwest part of Missouri and we usually don't have too harsh of winter, so I was hoping to continue to free range.

 

[cluckcluckgirl]

If you want steady egg-laying in the winter, you may have to add a light. Chickens require 14 hours of sunlight to produce 1 egg, and you can trick them by thinking a light bulb is sunlight. I don't know about free ranging in winter. My chickens will go out of the coop if they want to in the winter, so perhaps yours will too, but our winters can be very harsh.

 

[allabouttheeggs]

Do you think if I put a few solar yard lights in there that would help? We chose not to run electric to the coop, so I'm trying to think of what could work.

 

[cluckcluckgirl]

Could you hook a solar light to the ceiling of their coop? The main part is trying to convince them that the bright thing on the ceiling is the sun. Even just a small LED light can be enough to convince them to lay.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

at that age they should lay just fine through the winter without extra light, usually it's older birds after the molt that people use lights to get them to begin laying or continue laying, my first timers have always just kept laying.