Most people get backyard chickens not only for entertainment and teaching their children life skills, but for the eggs. Eggs are one of the most nutrient-dense, calorie efficient foods humans can eat! They're endlessly versatile in cooking and baking, and the flavor of fresh eggs compared to store-bought eggs is undeniable. There's something extra special about getting your first $2000 egg (IYKYK), so it's extra disheartening when the egg-train stops as the temperatures drop.
Why do chickens stop laying eggs during winter?
For starters, hens need 12-14 hours of daylight for their reproductive system to be in full-swing. The winter months (in the Northern Hemisphere) have shorter days, therefore: fewer daylight hours = fewer eggs produced.
Another factor is colder temperatures. When nighttime temps regularly drop below freezing and daytime temps barely peak above 32 degrees Fahrenheit a chicken's body is focused more on survival than producing eggs.
Something else that is often forgotten is forage. A chicken's diet greatly impacts egg production, and a frozen ground with few plant and insect options naturally found in a foraging diet leave a chicken with less dietary variety. It takes a lot of protein to form an egg and a lot of calcium to produce a strong shell. Without sufficient nutrients, a chicken's body will go back to the basics of producing internal temperature and keeping a chicken alive and healthy.
How to help hens lay eggs during winter
There are a number of methods to help your hens lay eggs during winter. Some are controversial and many backyard chicken keepers opt out, but there are several perfectly natural things one can do to support egg laying during colder months. For the sake of brevity (there's plenty of info already available) I'll only mention a few things that we personally use/have tried with our backyard flocks.
Artificial Lighting
One of the more controversial practices of mass production egg farms is artificial lighting. Remember, a hen needs a lot of daylight to keep forming eggs, so "forced" laying is common practice. I was curious if this made a difference and have experimented with our own coops. I found some small, cute, solar powered lights on Amazon and installed them inside our coops. They have motion sensors, light sensors, and 4- and 6-hour settings.
I experimented with light placement, brightness, timing, etc. and feel like we found a sweet spot. Long story short, personal experience shows that artificial lighting can definitely work, but there is something to be said for giving your girls a break alongside nature. As I write this we're in the middle of January. I turned the lights off completely at the new year and we're still getting plenty of eggs! We've even had several 12+ egg days with 17 laying girls, they look healthier, and the eggs are getting bigger once again.
In conclusion, artificial lighting works. However, I would consider your goals for having backyard chickens (companionship versus egg production) and watch your girls carefully for excessive strain. Even if you're selling the eggs you collect as a side hustle, healthy, rested hens lay better quality eggs more often. Just my opinion.
Heating Units Inside Chicken Coops
Another controversial topic for discussion is whether or not to add heat to your coop over winter. I've also done some experimenting with this as well, but have kept it much simpler than with the artificial lighting.
Here in north/central Utah, winter gets real cold at night. This has been a rather mild winter (so far), but we've officially dropped into below freezing-temps! Chickens handle cold better than heat and technically don't really need supplemental heat until temps dip below 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
When we built our coops, part of the design was having coop-safe radiant heaters installed. Heat lamps are a fire hazard (there are DOZENS of major fire incidents in coops and homes from falling or melting heat lamps every year) and can run up a power bill real fast. The radiant heaters we have are flat, mounted on the wall up out of bedding and poo, and don't get hot to the touch.
The plugs are connected to an outdoor safe surge protector and back to the house with a light sensing plug. I keep an eye on the weather and if the low temp is over 32 I unplug the whole water deicer/radiant heater setup. Simple as that! The chickens can keep themselves warm enough in their draft-free, enclosed coops by snuggling together and the waterers won't freeze up. Easy peasy.
Winter Laying Herbs
The final thing that I've tried with our girls is adding a specialized blend of herbs and spices to their feed: Snowball's Pepper & Mint Winter Blend. When I started this whole backyard chicken thing I never intended to start a business, but here we are! We wanted chickens for the eggs, so when it came to researching how to keep collecting eggs throughout winter, I found a wonderful rabbit hole...and developed an effective supplemental boost for healthy egg laying in the winter.
I try all of my products on my own flock before having other chicken keepers test them, so I can tell you with certainty that we've nailed it! I've tracked egg production for months and can confirm that our girls lay far more consistently with a high-quality feed supplemented with Snowball's Pepper & Mint Winter Blend. With human-grade, visible ingredients and nothing extra or altered, you can offer your girls a healthful boost for healthy winter egg production. Our girls haven't shown any strain (as they did with the lights), and the deworming and warming properties are keeping up on regular immunity maintenance.
Ready to start collecting eggs regularly again? Check out Snowball's Pepper & Mint Winter Blend and order your flock a winter treat today!
0 comments