Winter laying??

[JDonn127]

Three of my four white leghorns are now laying.... one started 2 weeks ago... one last week... one today..... i think the 4th is very close....whats the chances that since they basically just started laying that they will continue through the winter.... i am not using any light in the coop

 

[Suejordn]

No idea but totally wondering the same. Two of mine started 3 weeks ago and I think the other will soon? Wouldn’t it be great to get eggs all winter!

 

[Ridgerunner]

When my pullets start like that they usually lay through the winter and keep laying until they molt the following fall. I do not extend lights either.

They will slow down in extreme weather. Even in "non-extreme" weather they won't lay quite as much as in better weather. I think you have a good chance of getting some eggs all winter.

 

[urbanfarmersCNA]

When my pullets start like that they usually lay through the winter and keep laying until they molt the following fall. I do not extend lights either.

They will slow down in extreme weather. Even in "non-extreme" weather they won't lay quite as much as in better weather. I think you have a good chance of getting some eggs all winter.

I have 10 hens, Golden Comets, and they were laying 10 eggs a day for all of September and the first 2 weeks of October. Then this past week they suddenly dropped down to 2 eggs a day. We got them as chicks in the spring so I do not think they are molting, and there are no egg thieves, and they're not eating the eggs or laying them elsewhere. I have the run and coop secured heavily and cameras all around.

We give them layer crumbles, they free feed, and we give them oyster shells (free feed in a container) and chicken grit is also in a feeder, we keep that filled. So I don't think it's calcium or grit issue...

For water, we use a 5 gallon bucket that I refill when it's low. They were emptying that in about 4 days on schedule, but this week the 5 gallon bucket lasted 5-6 days so far, and i checked, and water still comes out of the nipples freely.

Temperatures are 60-78 degrees these days...any idea if this is normal for them to drop from 10 to 2 a day? Or does this seem too drastic?

 

[Ridgerunner]

any idea if this is normal for them to drop from 10 to 2 a day? Or does this seem too drastic?

It reads like you have read one of my typical posts about why they are not laying. You ticked off about everything I normally mention. Something else that can slow them down are changes, They often don't like changes. Changes in housing, change in furniture (Nests or roosts for example), change in lighting (security or street light maybe), changes in the pecking order (usually adding or subtracting chickens).

Production dropping down that quickly suggests something has changed. I don't know what that might have been. But yes, that does sound drastic. A day or two might just be luck but to be consistent for a week and a half, that's different.

 

[urbanfarmersCNA]

Oh man! We changed their bedding from straw to pine shavings. I wonder if that’s it??? I’d say the timing almost lines up perfectly

 

[Ridgerunner]

If that was it they should get over it pretty quickly. They may not like change but they are usually pretty adaptable.

I saw your other thread on this. It sounds like you may have had some weather changes and it had only been a few days, nit a week and a half. Could be a combination of things. Just be patient. Patience is usually your best friend with things like this.