I knew it was coming. But it still takes some getting used to.
After cranking out two to three eggs daily for several months, our three hens have slowed down, sometimes going eggless for an entire day before producing only one or two eggs among them the following day.
Stella, Nala and Snow aren’t sick, or at least they don’t appear to be. The experts say this is a seasonal change, and par for the course as the days grow shorter. A hen is said to need a lot of daylight for the rather laborious process of producing an egg, and the lengthening nights are cutting into that quite a bit.
“Most hens stop laying in the winter, not because the weather turns cold, but because daylight hours are shorter in winter than in summer,” says The Chicken Encyclopedia, by Gail Damerow. “When the number of daylight hours falls below 14, without controlling lighting hens may stop laying until spring.”
Chickens are very attentive to the rising and setting of the sun. When dawn breaks, the girls are up and at ‘em, like feathered wind-up dolls. And when the sun sets, they troop into their coop without fail and with no prodding, hopping up onto the roost for the night.
So the arrival of fall has messed with their internal clocks, which govern the laying process. At summer’s peak, the girls were up until 8:30 p.m. or so, but now they head into the coop about two hours sooner. I’m sure their bedtime will start even earlier in the day, once winter sets in.
You can boost egg production in the cold-weather months by installing a light in the coop, to create the illusion of longer days. Some owners say the best time to turn on the light is early in the morning. Others prefer lighting the coop for a while at dusk. And some split the difference, opting to provide a bit of artificial light in the morning and more at night.
I’ve toyed with the idea of lighting our coop to keep the eggs coming more regularly, but it seems wrong, almost cruel, to me - a case of unwarranted meddling with mother nature. The hens worked hard day in and day out during the summer, producing eggs with amazing frequency and regularity. Instead of treating them like mere machines by tricking them with a light bulb, I think they deserve a rest, so their bodies can dictate what lies - or lays - ahead.
After cranking out two to three eggs daily for several months, our three hens have slowed down, sometimes going eggless for an entire day before producing only one or two eggs among them the following day.
Stella, Nala and Snow aren’t sick, or at least they don’t appear to be. The experts say this is a seasonal change, and par for the course as the days grow shorter. A hen is said to need a lot of daylight for the rather laborious process of producing an egg, and the lengthening nights are cutting into that quite a bit.
“Most hens stop laying in the winter, not because the weather turns cold, but because daylight hours are shorter in winter than in summer,” says The Chicken Encyclopedia, by Gail Damerow. “When the number of daylight hours falls below 14, without controlling lighting hens may stop laying until spring.”
Chickens are very attentive to the rising and setting of the sun. When dawn breaks, the girls are up and at ‘em, like feathered wind-up dolls. And when the sun sets, they troop into their coop without fail and with no prodding, hopping up onto the roost for the night.
So the arrival of fall has messed with their internal clocks, which govern the laying process. At summer’s peak, the girls were up until 8:30 p.m. or so, but now they head into the coop about two hours sooner. I’m sure their bedtime will start even earlier in the day, once winter sets in.
You can boost egg production in the cold-weather months by installing a light in the coop, to create the illusion of longer days. Some owners say the best time to turn on the light is early in the morning. Others prefer lighting the coop for a while at dusk. And some split the difference, opting to provide a bit of artificial light in the morning and more at night.
I’ve toyed with the idea of lighting our coop to keep the eggs coming more regularly, but it seems wrong, almost cruel, to me - a case of unwarranted meddling with mother nature. The hens worked hard day in and day out during the summer, producing eggs with amazing frequency and regularity. Instead of treating them like mere machines by tricking them with a light bulb, I think they deserve a rest, so their bodies can dictate what lies - or lays - ahead.
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