Transcript:
Today I am down in the chicken coop here to talk about what to do if your chickens aren’t laying as much as you expect. Maybe they’re not laying at all or maybe their production is way lower than you would like.
First of all, I’d like to preface this by saying if you have 5 chickens and you’re getting 3 eggs a day wondering why you are not getting 4 or 5 eggs a day, that is still reasonable egg production depending upon the time of year.
So make sure to check out my other video on how many chickens you need to get for the number of eggs you.
But let’s say you are getting 30% egg production out of your chickens. For example, let’s say you have 10 chickens and you’re getting 1-3 eggs a day. And you’re wondering what’s going on? Here are a few things to consider.
Why your Hens Egg Production has Slowed Down
Seasonal Light Changes Significantly Slows Egg Production
First of all, light. So if you live up further north like I do in Minnesota, where your light fluctuates dramatically throughout the year, this really affects birds laying.
In the winter here in Minnesota, your birds are probably going to drop way down maybe even to like a 1/3 of an egg per day per chicken.
So if you have 10 chickens, it is reasonable to only get 3 eggs a day in the winter, especially if you have older birds as well.
If you are wondering how to holistically care for your chickens in your winter, regardless of how extreme it is, check out my post on winter chicken care.
But in the summer when our days are super long, our hens are cranking out eggs during out 14-16 hour days.
So if you are not seeing the egg production that you’re like to see during the winter time, something you can do to help is put a light in your coop and turn it on a time so that your hens can get 12-16 hours of daylight in a day.
This of course isn’t a perfect replacement for natural sunlight but it should help them kick back up their production.
Cold Weather Reduces your Hen’s Egg Production
Light is a major factor. It’s sort of going hand in hand in that is weather.
Oftentimes here in Minnesota, it is dark and freezing cold in the winter, which is not very conducive to high egg production.
To help counteract this, provide your chickens with a warm cozy spot that is insulated and heated to help your egg production in the winter, along with light.
It is important to note that weather and light are correlated but truly separate. We have had a week of cold shocks in March and even April (…it’s Minnesota after all) yet because of the longer days our hens keep churning out eggs.
Chicken Egg Production Slow Drastically as they Age
The third thing to consider is your hens age. Are they getting old?
Your chickens’ first cycle (around 6 months old) when they start laying to when they molt, which is when they shed their feathers, will be their most productive season.
Every year after that their production is going to go down.
So are your hens 3, 4, 5 or even 6 years old? Well, that’s probably why they’re not laying as well.
If you still want a lot of eggs, your best bet is going to be to cull your flock and get new birds.
Most commercial farms are only keeping their birds for a year or two, and then they bring in new chickens.
I normally keep my birds for 2.5 to 3.5 years because although I value production, I also don’t really like raising chicks and having to get rid of my old hens.
So my happy balance is 2.5 to 3.5 year, which keeps me with good egg production, but in their last year their egg production is noticeably lower.
Egg Production Slows Down During Molting Season
All right. Next question number four. Are they molting? So once a year chickens are going to shed their feathers and grow and grow new ones.
And this process takes a lot of energy. They are not going to be pouring their energy into producing eggs during this time. They’re going to be growing your feathers.
So if you walk into your chicken coop and you notice a lot of loose feathers on the ground, you look at your chickens. They have bare spots, or they have like new feathers coming in. It looks so strange. It’s cool, it’s cool. but if you notice that and your egg production slow, that is probably why your chickens are just growing your feathers.
They will start laying again as soon as they are done molting.
All right. Number five, another thing to consider is bread.
so a lot of the newer, higher production hybrid breeds are going to be laying more eggs, especially in those first couple of years.
if you have a more old fashioned heritage breed, they’re probably not going to lay as many eggs upfront.
That being said, you probably will get more consistent laying so your hybrid birds might slow down more dramatically at three and a half, four and a half years old versus your older hens will just sort of keep plugging along at their slow but steady pace.
So if you really don’t like the amount of eggs that you’re getting this time around, maybe try a new breed next time.
Go for more of a production bird and that should get you more eggs.
And lastly, I want to touch on nutrition here. So are your birds getting the nutrition that they need in order to lay well. So I always like to have my birds on a layer feed. It has calcium. It
has that right protein ratio about 17%. And then I also provide them with grits and oyster shell supplements as well.
So that’s another thing to consider if you haven’t looked into your feed at all.
I’ve got a final little bonus tip for you. So this is a question I like to ask. Somebody is really complaining about no eggs. Maybe your chickens are not laying. Maybe they’re just laying somewhere else and hiding the eggs from you.
This is especially popular if you’re free arranging your birds. So if you’re letting them water all over, maybe they’re not coming back to the coop and laying.
Maybe they found a nice nest in your hostas, or in some hay in the barn or somewhere else. So I would go on a little bit of a hunt, and if you ever do find a clutch of eggs somewhere, then I would lock your chickens in the coop for a little bit to force them to lay in the coop, that you can actually see how many eggs you’re getting in a day, and then hopefully also train them to lay in the coop again.
So that’s a little side note.
So I hope that helps you sleuth out a little bit about why your chickens might not be laying as much as you hope.
Until next time.
