Winter Laying

[Clairemarie1982]

Hi! We have a flock of a rooster and 8 hens which we got as day old chicks in April. It’s mid winter and we live in CT. Of my flock my silkies, lavender Orpington, buff Brahma and favaucana are all laying consistently enough that we have not had to buy eggs yet. We do not supplement lighting as I just felt it was best to let nature do it’s thing and give the girls a break. But I am really shocked they are still laying- and so much. They are super spoiled by our love and fresh fruits/veggies and free ranging etc, but I thought it was necessary to have more light to produce eggs. How is this possible, is it because they are so young still?! Thanks!

 

[DobieLover]

Hi! We have a flock of a rooster and 8 hens which we got as day old chicks in April. It’s mid winter and we live in CT. Of my flock my silkies, lavender Orpington, buff Brahma and favaucana are all laying consistently enough that we have not had to buy eggs yet. We do not supplement lighting as I just felt it was best to let nature do it’s thing and give the girls a break. But I am really shocked they are still laying- and so much. They are super spoiled by our love and fresh fruits/veggies and free ranging etc, but I thought it was necessary to have more light to produce eggs. How is this possible, is it because they are so young still?! Thanks!

You answered your own question! First year pullets don't need a break and will lay through winter. Their production will increase as the days lengthen. This is why many keepers sell off or cull older hens and raise replacement pullets every year.
When hens go into their second winter is when they will molt and take a break.

 

[DobieLover]

Ohh ok makes sense! Thank you. And yeah I guess that’s reality but so sad to me to cull a perfectly good chicken. But we do have ours as pets too so I guess that’s the difference.

Cull means to remove from the flock. It does not necessarily mean kill.

 

[Clairemarie1982]

You answered your own question! First year pullets don't need a break a will lay through winter. Their production will increase as the days lengthen. This is why many keepers sell off or cull older hens and raise replacement pullets every year.
When hens go into their second winter is when they will molt and take a break.

You answered your own question! First year pullets don't need a break a will lay through winter. Their production will increase as the days lengthen. This is why many keepers sell off or cull older hens and raise replacement pullets every year.
When hens go into their second winter is when they will molt and take a break.

Ohh ok makes sense! Thank you. And yeah I guess that’s reality but so sad to me to cull a perfectly good chicken. But we do have ours as pets too so I guess that’s the difference.

 

[NatJ]

Oh thanks for the clarification I thought cull means kill. I didn’t know!

When someone "culls" a flock of thousands, it usually does mean kill. When someone "culls" a pet, it usually means re-homing the animal, or sometimes keeping it as a pet but not allowing it to breed (neuter a dog, do not hatch eggs from a hen, house a rooster in a bachelor flock rather than with hens.)

 

[NatJ]

I thought it was necessary to have more light to produce eggs.

There are some breed differences. Before artificial light was common, people in areas with short winter days would deliberately hatch eggs from the hens that DID lay in the winter, and some breeds were known as good winter layers.

Because all chickens would lay in the spring and summer, it's become common to just give that many hours of daylight to all chickens, if egg-laying is wanted in winter. But many hens would still lay with less hours. (Cheaper to run lights than to select for winter laying.)

Some years back, I had four hens living together, and two laid in the winter while the other two did not. This was not just their first year, either. The winter layers were Chanteclers (one buff, one partridge). The summer-only layers were Easter Egger banties. They had all come from Ideal poultry, and were the same age. They lived in teh same pen, ate the same food, and had no artificial light. I was in Northern Virginia, and the front of their pen was open all winter long (it was covered with hardware cloth, but let plenty of light and air through.)

I also suspect that housing makes a difference. Some coops are very dark inside unless light is provided, while others have enough windows or hardware cloth that the very earliest rays of sun can get in--which effectively makes for a longer day for the hens.

 

[Clairemarie1982]

Cull means to remove from the flock. It does not necessarily mean kill.

Oh thanks for the clarification I thought cull means kill. I didn’t know!

 

[Clairemarie1982]

There are some breed differences. Before artificial light was common, people in areas with short winter days would deliberately hatch eggs from the hens that DID lay in the winter, and some breeds were known as good winter layers.

Because all chickens would lay in the spring and summer, it's become common to just give that many hours of daylight to all chickens, if egg-laying is wanted in winter. But many hens would still lay with less hours. (Cheaper to run lights than to select for winter laying.)

Some years back, I had four hens living together, and two laid in the winter while the other two did not. This was not just their first year, either. The winter layers were Chanteclers (one buff, one partridge). The summer-only layers were Easter Egger banties. They had all come from Ideal poultry, and were the same age. They lived in teh same pen, ate the same food, and had no artificial light. I was in Northern Virginia, and the front of their pen was open all winter long (it was covered with hardware cloth, but let plenty of light and air through.)

I also suspect that housing makes a difference. Some coops are very dark inside unless light is provided, while others have enough windows or hardware cloth that the very earliest rays of sun can get in--which effectively makes for a longer day for the hens.

Interesting. Thanks for the helpful reply!