I've raised chickens for 30 yrs, and every winter, some of the hens take time off from laying. Even with a small lightbulb in their coop, some of the hens just stopped. They are entitled in my opinion, they feed me nearly all year long.
All of mine stopped laying. Figured it’s my fault so I’ve done everything everyone recommends. Cleaning coop and nesting boxes every few days. Letting them free range for most of the day… Fake eggs to help encourage where to lay… Curtains on the nesting boxes…
Folks can freeze or otherwise preserve eggs when they are plentiful for the periods when the laying goes down. I do this and let my hens have their well deserved break and reset in fall/winter.🎉
This happened just as spring started. I hope they dont die. My first flock got killed by a weasel first and finished off by a racoon. I built a whole new coop and raised more the next year. They took so long to raise. I hope they don't just drop dead.
We add to our chickens feed, some corn, dog food and sunflower seeds and that helps to keep some eggs coming through the winter. We also store some of the overflow of eggs in the summer in lime (pickling type) water to use in the winter months. It is great to have when you are using lots of eggs around the holidays.
I've raised chickens for 30 yrs, and every winter, some of the hens take time off from laying. Even with a small lightbulb in their coop, some of the hens just stopped. They are entitled in my opinion, they feed me nearly all year long.
All of mine stopped laying. Figured it’s my fault so I’ve done everything everyone recommends. Cleaning coop and nesting boxes every few days. Letting them free range for most of the day… Fake eggs to help encourage where to lay… Curtains on the nesting boxes…
Folks can freeze or otherwise preserve eggs when they are plentiful for the periods when the laying goes down. I do this and let my hens have their well deserved break and reset in fall/winter.🎉
This happened just as spring started. I hope they dont die. My first flock got killed by a weasel first and finished off by a racoon. I built a whole new coop and raised more the next year. They took so long to raise. I hope they don't just drop dead.
We add to our chickens feed, some corn, dog food and sunflower seeds and that helps to keep some eggs coming through the winter. We also store some of the overflow of eggs in the summer in lime (pickling type) water to use in the winter months. It is great to have when you are using lots of eggs around the holidays.