One of many largest issues yard rooster homeowners face in the course of the winter months is holding their egg provide going.
If you happen to’ve saved chickens in the course of the winter months earlier than, you’ll know that, sadly, if you happen to let nature take its course, your hens will cease laying fully throughout this era.
I’ve raised chickens for over 7 years and know simply how unhealthy it feels to see your egg manufacturing go down from 12 contemporary eggs on daily basis to 1 or 2 eggs… if you happen to’re fortunate!
Conserving your hens mendacity throughout winter might be troublesome, and you’ll positively want extra than simply extra lighting. Nevertheless, after studying the second chapter of our definitive information, you’ll know precisely what it takes to maintain your provide of contemporary eggs in the course of the winter months.
A few of your chickens could cease laying eggs in the course of the winter, however many will proceed to put all through the chilly months if they’ve all the things they want.
You could not even want so as to add lighting or a particular feed….so long as you’re pleased with a slower manufacturing price.
Whereas chickens make the most of extra of their vitality to remain heat in the course of the winter, their egg factories don’t cease fully (until their fundamental wants are being met).
And it’s not a merciless expectation to hope for eggs to proceed in the course of the winter… so long as you might be offering in your birds.
Ought to I Power My Hens To Lay Eggs Throughout Winter?
Earlier than we have a look at the best way to make your chickens lay eggs in the course of the winter months, the very first thing we have to have a look at is, ought to we make our chickens lay eggs in the course of the winter months?
This can be a query that many yard rooster homeowners ponder.
Is forcing our chickens to put eggs in the course of the winter moral?
Clearly, as yard rooster homeowners, we don’t elevate chickens for business acquire. In reality, many occasions, our yard chickens turn into like our family pets!
Nevertheless, with that being stated, many individuals elevate yard chickens for the only function of eggs, they usually want this egg provide to proceed in the course of the winter months.
Personally, my hens are handled like pets, and after a tough summer season of laying numerous eggs, I like to offer my women a relaxation.
The method of manufacturing and laying an egg is extremely strenuous work, and it takes a toll on their physique after a time period.
If they’re compelled to put eggs with out relaxation for a very long time, it may be extraordinarily damaging for his or her our bodies, and in excessive circumstances, it may trigger everlasting injury.
For this reason I let nature take its course and permit my women the winter off!
Nevertheless, I can fully perceive why individuals get their chickens to put eggs in the course of the winter months.
Like with most issues, the reply to this query isn’t strictly proper or incorrect.
There are lots of grey areas!
If you happen to determine to let nature take its course and never power your hens to put in the course of the winter months, ensure you learn the best way to protect your eggs in the course of the summer season months so you’ve gotten a provide for the winter months.
Why Do Hens Cease Laying Throughout Winter?
To make our hens lay eggs in the course of the winter, we first want to grasp why hens cease laying throughout this time interval.
Everyone knows that one of many largest causes hens cease mendacity is the discount in daylight. Hens want round 14 hours of daylight on daily basis to put an egg, and within the US, in the course of the winter months, the typical quantity of daylight is just 9.5 hours.
Why you would possibly ask, does a discount in daylight matter?
Nicely, it’s because mild cues inform your hens when to provide eggs. It’s a survival intuition as a result of hens know that chicks gained’t survive in the course of the winter, so their physique stops sending eggs from their ovaries.
At this level, you most likely understand that hens lay eggs purely for copy functions, not for scrambled or poached eggs!
Nevertheless, it isn’t only a lack of daylight that causes hens to cease laying eggs in the course of the winter.
Because the chilly climate takes over, your rooster’s physique naturally has to work more durable to maintain heat.
To work more durable, your rooster redirects their ‘sources (i.e., vitality from meals) to maintain themselves heat as an alternative of laying eggs.
A standard mistake made by yard rooster homeowners is to not improve their rooster’s feed in the course of the winter months.
This discount in accessible vitality means your hens don’t have sufficient vitality to proceed laying eggs.
So in the course of the winter months, it’s essential just remember to improve the quantity of feed accessible in your chickens.
Please ensure you learn Chapter 3: Feeding Chickens In Winter to seek out out precisely what you have to be feeding them.
Along with the proper vitamin, chickens should be properly hydrated to put eggs. Round 75% of an egg is made up of water, so in case your hens are thirsty, you gained’t be getting any eggs!
Learn Chapter 4 on Water to learn how to stop your water from freezing in the course of the winter to make sure your hens are getting the correct quantity of water.
One of the best ways to grasp eggs is to think about them on the tip of a pyramid: the one manner you may have the tip (eggs) is to ensure you have the proper foundations (meals, water, and daylight).
We at the moment are beginning to construct an image of a number of the reason why your hens cease laying eggs in the course of the wintertime.
If we management these components (meals, water, daylight, and temperature), we are able to count on our hens to proceed laying eggs. Meals and Water are giant subjects (every has its personal chapter).
When you’ve learn these chapters, return so far and discover ways to management the ultimate ingredient, lighting.
Synthetic Lighting within the Coop
Many rooster keepers, and most business enterprises, maintain their flock below lighting by way of the winter. This ensures the chickens will preserve egg manufacturing at optimum ranges for all twelve months of the yr.
Chickens want twelve to 14 hours of daylight to maintain manufacturing working, and the one manner to supply this daylight in the course of the winter is to make use of synthetic lighting.
A 40w lightbulb (ensure you don’t use a fluorescent lightbulb) supplies sufficient mild for a ten x 10 coop.
Make sure that the lightbulb is securely fitted- I’d additionally use a second becoming simply if the primary fixing fails and your mild falls onto the ground. For the fixing use both wire or chain psychological, pests comparable to rats can chew by way of string.
When becoming the sunshine supply, ensure that it’s saved out of attain of the chickens and away from dry bedding/different probably flammable materials.
As soon as the lightbulb is fitted, you should utilize a timer to set the lightbulb to come back on from 4 am-8 am.
The factitious mild must be added within the morning as an alternative of the night to keep away from stressing the birds.
That you must match the sundown time to your synthetic lightbulb timer all through winter to ensure your hens’ daylight stays constantly at round 14 hours.
In order we transfer additional into winter, you will have to depart your lightbulb longer to keep up the 14 hours a day. However as we get nearer to February and the pure daylight begins getting longer, it would be best to cut back the size of time you allow the lightbulb on.
Every morning just remember to examine the lightbulb works – in the course of the chilly nights, lightbulbs don’t final very lengthy!
In case your lightbulb is damaged and doesn’t get changed, probably, you’ll by accident power your chickens right into a molt.
When changing the damaged lightbulb, ensure you exchange it with the identical colour bulb- if you happen to’re utilizing a purple mild, don’t exchange this with a white lightbulb and vice versa.
Talking of damaged lightbulbs, you additionally must have a backup plan for energy outages. Usually, you must count on to have at the least 2 energy outages every winter.
I discover battery-powered tenting lanterns can work properly as a short lived backup while the principle electrical energy provide is out.
Feeding Your Hens Throughout Synthetic Lighting
While your chickens is perhaps joyful waking up at 4 am when their lightbulb activates, I’m guessing you aren’t too joyful waking up at 4 am. That’s why you’re utilizing a timer for the lightbulb!
It’s tremendous your chickens waking up at 4 am, however if you happen to aren’t letting them exterior till the solar rises (at 8 am), your chickens will get bored throughout this time. This may typically lead to them pecking at one another’s feed- a nasty behavior that may typically be extraordinarily troublesome to cease.
To maintain them occupied throughout these early hours, you may go away some feed and water contained in the coop if you lock them up at evening. This manner, they’ll begin consuming and have one thing to occupy themselves till they get let loose.
Preserving Eggs from the Summer time
You could determine that you simply wish to give your hens a break in the course of the winter months and that synthetic lighting isn’t for you- however you continue to need eggs in the course of the winter months.
The one option to obtain that is to retailer among the eggs from the summer season months when your hens are laying numerous eggs. To retailer the eggs, you’ve gotten two choices: you may both freeze them or retailer them within the fridge.
Storing Eggs within the Fridge
If you happen to retailer eggs in your fridge, they’ll final a stunning quantity of time- Mom Earth Information studies that eggs can final greater than 3 months, offering they’re saved in a sealed hermetic container.
Because of this if you happen to maintain again among the eggs from the summer season months, you may refrigerate them and eat these eggs throughout December, January and February when your hens have stopped laying eggs.
The important thing to preserving your eggs within the fridge is to not take away the bloom!
The bloom is a pure protecting seal that protects the egg from micro organism. Sadly, if you wash the egg, you take away the bloom and its safety in opposition to micro organism.
So if you acquire your eggs and retailer them, ensure you don’t wash them! If the eggs are notably mucky, then wipe them with a dry material and don’t use any cleansing merchandise.
To maintain monitor of when the egg was laid, you should utilize a pencil to put in writing the egg’s knowledge.
Storing Eggs within the Freezer
If it’s essential retailer your eggs for longer than 3 months, I’d suggest freezing them.
Sadly, you may’t simply place the entire egg contained in the freezer and go away it…
To freeze an egg, it’s essential separate the yolk and the egg white.
I discovered a useful video that reveals how to do that very simply. It takes just a few goes, however you may be tremendous when you get the cling of it!
After you have separated the yolk and egg whites, they want storing in separate plastic containers.
To make use of the eggs once more, you simply must defrost them and mix the yolk into the egg white.
Once I’m freezing the eggs, I additionally prefer to bake the eggshells and feed them to my girls- it supplies them with an awesome free supply of grit in the course of the winter!
Chapter Two Abstract
Chickens naturally cease laying eggs in the course of the winter as a result of their physique must relaxation.
It’s a private determination whether or not you wish to power your hens to proceed laying throughout this time.
If you happen to determine to maintain your hens laying, you will have extra than simply synthetic lighting- ensure you learn our chapters on Feeding and Water Provide.
A key a part of chickens’ egg laying is daylight, so you will have to keep up their daylight publicity by introducing a synthetic mild supply. Ensure you don’t match this mild supply close to any probably flammable sources.
In case you are utilizing synthetic mild of their coop, ensure that your hens are occupied in the course of the early hours with feed and water.
Lastly, if you happen to determine to let nature take its course, you may protect eggs laid within the summertime by both refrigerating them or freezing them after which eat them in the course of the winter months.
