Our fresh, many colored eggs are a big hit here in suburban Pa. I get $2.50/doz with my customers willing to pay more. I actually got a 'christmas bonus' from a customer for the whole 'chicken experience'-$20 for 2 dozen eggs! My production is way off, though. I have lights on a timer to extend day length, good feed & water etc. I have had my flock 'cooped up' all day the last 2 days due to the cold (and because I thought they were laying in the shrubbery!) and still today I got only 1 egg from 11 hens. They were moulting this summer (I assume) so most of the summer I got few eggs. What gives? I have a market, but no eggs! Help!

Jody:

I can't explain why you did not get good production during the summer but it is natural for birds to slow down and to then moult, usually late summer but it can be at other times. Right now I suspect it is the cold. I find that in freezing weather, production can taper off rather quickly. Energy that goes into egg production will go to generating heat for survival. If you haven't insulated your coop, that would certainly help, at least for next winter. Putting some sort of heat can also help, like a brooder lamp to raise the coop temp to above freezing.
The age of your flock can be a factor as well. Older birds, in good condition will continue to lay for years but generally less each year.

James

I can share your fustration. I was selling my eggs for 2.40 (but have raised it to 3). My customers were waiting and <poof> no eggs! I have no idea why your hens stopped....sorry.

Maybe this will help. I have my birds on a timer so the light comes on early in the morning. When it gets to be really cold like it is here now (+8 this morning) I hang a brooder shield just above the fountain to help keep the water in the fountain from freezing and tip it so some of the heat escapes up underneath the roosting hood. I keep a red 75W flood bulb on 24 hours a day in this fixture, but it apparently emits enough white light that the hens can see to get around at night. Almost any time I go in there I can find 4-8 hens on the floor around the light and under the roost. Since I put the brooder shield in, production has nearly doubled. I assume this is because the red light is giving the hens the option of being more active for more hours of the day, eating and drinking when they would normally be stuck on the roost in the dark. Because these hens are mostly spent, production was not great to start with, but they have gone from 3-4 eggs a day to 7-9. It has been just as cold or colder than it was before, and this is the only other change that might have caused the increase. Hope this helps.

We had poor production for awhile and once we increased the ratio of layer mash (thereby increasing protein) our production went right up to almost 1 egg per day per hen. It was thanks to advice from the folks here at the Coop. We now get at least 21 eggs per day from 27 hens, and often 24. We live in Canada and currently our weather is quite cold (-5-10C). We too have a red heat lamp in the coop.

Barb

Hi Barb
I too live in Canada, in Ontario actually! Same kind of temperatures....do you keep your chickens in all winter? I open the little door to give them the option of going out but not on the really cold days. What do you use for bedding? I use wood chips & straw but I find that the wood chips are better for the chickens as I can kind of scoop the poop out! Do you ever feed your hens cooked pasta? Mine love it!!

You feed your chickens cooked pasta? My chickens will eat anything...they love yogurt and other dairy products. Its especially handy having chickens when you garden 'cause you can throw them all the weeds and garden cuttings after working in your plot.

Hello Heidi

We live northeast of Toronto. Our coop is really just a roofed area fenced in with chicken wire on two sides. Great ventilation <g>. In winter we put up windbreaks over most of the chicken wire. It is in a very sheltered spot with trees all around and faces into the barnyard. We do have a heat lamp, but they never seem to mind the cold and they don't slow down their laying in winter. The hens used to go out until they started tearing up my gardens and getting onto the road- I tried everything to keep them in the horse pasture but they always got out. We have straw on the floor. Thank God it finally stopped raining and started snowing- it sure was muddy. Our hens also go crazy for pasta, rice, veggies- we have small kids so lot of food scraps!