Many foods that we raise and grow on the homestead are considered seasonal crops, meaning they can only be grown during a certain season of the year. A lot of times we forget that eggs are actually a seasonal food too. Birds of any species naturally don’t lay eggs every day, and neither do chickens. Of course, genetic modification and selective breeding has changed the production rate of many of the chicken breeds we raise now. However, the heritage breeds that are best for homestead life while still often take a seasonal break from egg production. There are several reasons why hens stop laying during the winter. Let’s take a look at those reasons and figure out how you can deal with them to keep a healthy and productive homestead flock during the winter!
#1. Not Enough Light
One of the main reasons why hens stop laying during the winter months is because of lack of light. A hen’s reproductive system is triggered by how much light she senses within a 24 hour period. While visual light does play a role, a hen has a more acute way of sensing light and darkness. All hens have a pineal gland that controls laying and other behaviors.
The pineal gland is located on the top of a hen’s head near her comb. It is inside the skull so you can’t visibly see the gland. The pineal gland is acutely sensitive to light and darkness. Since the pineal gland is in control of a hen’s reproductive system, it also triggers other behaviors, such as broodiness and molting.
In order to kick start the reproductive system, a hen needs to sense between 12-16 hours of light each day. With the correct amount of light, a hen will keep laying eggs. Keep in mind, a hen may still not lay every day. Her rate of reproduction is also dictated by her breed and her 24 hour laying cycle.
Fall and winter months can halt laying because fall and winter days usually have shorter daylight hours, especially in northern regions. Some hens can keep laying even with minimal light. Others will stop laying once they no longer receive the minimum hours of light they need. There are two main factors that a play a role in how well a hen will lay despite shorter daylight hours: age & breed.
Age & Light Needs
Younger hens and pullets need less light to keep laying versus older hens. Sometimes young pullets will keep on laying throughout the winter since they haven’t stopped to molt. They also don’t need as much light within a 24 hour period. However, even young birds will stop laying if the environmental conditions get too severe (cold stress).
Older hens will not only have taken break from laying during the fall molt, but they also need to sense more light in order to kick start their reproductive systems. The older a hen gets, the more strain laying puts on her body. Many older hens benefit from a break in laying during the winter months. That way they can focus on staying warm and healthy instead of laying eggs.
Breed & Light Needs
Breed also plays a role in how much light a hens needs in order to keep laying during the winter. High production breeds, like white Leghorns and production hybrids, are often excellent layers year round. Keep in mind that high production breeds are usually the most productive for the first 1-2 years of their life. After the age of two, their rate of lay will decrease.
High production breeds can usually keep laying despite decreasing daylight hours as long as other environmental conditions don’t cause them to stop laying. However, they are also generally light-bodied, small breeds who are not as cold hardy. Cold stress can cause them to stop laying sooner even if they are still getting the light they need to keep laying.
Heritage and cold hardy chicken breeds are often the best winter time layers. Even though heritage breeds may not have a high rate of lay, they can often lay consistently throughout the year, even despite shorter daylight hours in the winter. Cold hardy heritage breeds are the best for northern regions. Cold hardy breeds are more resistant to cold stress, which can also halt laying.
#2. Tail-End of the Molt
Another one of the reasons why hens stop laying during the winter factor is because of the fall molt. All chickens over 1 year of age will go through a fall molt. The fall molt is a natural occurrence for most birds of any species in preparation for cold winter months or migration. For a chicken, the fall molt entails replacing old and worn weathers with new feathers. The new feathers will be more effective at keeping the chicken warm during the winter months.
The molt is usually triggered by shorter day light hours, which is also a trigger for a hen to stop laying. Molting (aka, growing in new feathers) requires a lot of energy. Most of the time a hen cannot keep laying and molt at the same time. Both processes require too much energy to be done at the same time. A hen will usually stop laying during the fall molt. She will then resume laying once a.) she’s done molting b.) she’s done molting and she senses enough light. Sometimes a hen won’t resume laying until spring when daylight hours increase and the warmer weather is less energy-demanding.
You can tell when a hen is nearing the end of her molting cycle by watching which feathers she is currently growing in. Her tail feathers will be the last feathers to regrow at the end of the molt. A hen who molts early and quickly may start laying again before winter. Hens who don’t start laying after they finish molting are probably not getting enough light or are affected by the environmental conditions.
Keep in mind that pullets (hens under 1 year of age) don’t molt. They will usually keep laying during the fall months.
#3. Cold Stress
One of the last reasons why hens stop laying during the winter is cold stress. Cold stress is brought on by environmental factors. It is often more of a trigger in northern regions where the winter weather is more extreme than in southern climates. However, even hens in southern regions who are accustomed to mild winter weather can be affected by cold stress. If a sudden cold snap occurs or unusual winter weather sets in for the region, a hen may stop laying.
Not all cold stress is bad. It is simply a chicken’s way of dealing with the increased energy needs brought about by cold weather. Cold weather requires a chicken to put more energy into staying warm than is normally necessary. If enough energy reserves are put into staying warm, it can halt laying, which also requires a good amount of energy. Some cold stress is natural, and some hens will keep laying despite cold temperatures. However, severe cold stress will halt laying. How susceptible a hen is to the affects of cold stress is determined by a few factors.
Factors of Cold Stress Susceptibility:
- Age– Young chickens are less susceptible to cold stress than older chickens.
- Breed– Cold hardy breeds will be more resistant to cold stress since they often have bigger bodies, fluffier feathers, smaller combs and wattles, and other features that allows them to expend less energy on staying warm.
- Acclimation– Chickens who have time to slowly acclimate to colder temperatures will have a lower point of cold stress. However, sometimes the weather does not cooperate and gradual acclimation is interrupted by a sudden cold snap. You can help your flock deal with cold stress during sudden cold snaps to keep them healthy.
- Overall Health– A healthy chicken will be less affected by cold stress than an ailing or injured chicken. Parasites and chronic diseases can make a hen more susceptible to cold stress since her body is already using energy to fight her ailment.
How to Keep Chickens Laying During the Winter
Despite these three, often unavoidable, reasons why hens to stop laying during the winter, there are some ways you can encourage your homestead flock to keep laying and still stay healthy. I do believe that eggs are a seasonal crop and that hens do benefit from a break in laying during the fall and winter. However, I also like to make my flock earn their keep, so I do everything I can to keep them both healthy and productive.
Here is how you can deal with less light, molting, and cold stress in your homestead flock to keep them productive during the winter.
Supplemental Light
Supplemental light is a way of extending how much light a hen senses within a 24 hour period during shorter winter days. It is a method of using artificial lights to mimic a 12-16 hour daylight period. Supplemental light is often added in the morning, so the hens are woken up earlier than when the sun rises but are allowed to naturally roost in the evening at dusk.
Since there is some controversy about using supplemental light, I do go into more details in my article Do Hens Need Supplemental Light? Make sure you learn how to use supplemental light properly so as not to compromise the health of your homestead flock!
Quick Molt
In the commercial industry, laying hens are often forced to molt all at the same time by manipulating lighting in their housing. However, on the homestead, we like to let our birds molt naturally and on their own time frame. That can make this factor of winter laying break a little more difficult to control.
However, you can help your homestead flock complete a quick and effective molt by supplying them with the dietary elements they need and keeping stress levels low. Extra protein can be beneficial for helping hens complete their molt effectively and efficiently. If cold weather hits while some of your hens are still molting, you will want to take extra measures to ensure they get the energy they need to both stay warm and still keep molting.
Check out these resources for helping your homestead flock complete a quick and successful fall molt:
- Molting 101- What is Molting?
- Natural Supplements for Molting Season
- Emergency Care for Molting Chickens (includes tips for helping molting chickens during cold snaps)
Another option is to add new pullets to your flock every year. Since pullets (hens under 1 year of age) don’t molt their first fall, they will keep on laying even when the older hens have started molting. However, the more birds you add to your flock will require more space and food!
Reduce Cold Stress
You can help keep your hens healthy and productive during the winter by reducing the affects of cold stress. By helping your flock get the energy they need to stay warm in a balanced and nutritional way, you can allow them to keep putting energy towards laying as well.
I go into more details on reducing cold stress for the homestead flock in the following articles:
- Cold Stress in Poultry- the silent killer
- Recognizing Cold Stress in Chickens
- Helping Your Flock Deal with Cold Stress
Most hens will naturally take a break from laying during the winter months. It’s what nature intended for them. Between decreasing daylight hours, growing in new feathers, and decreasing temperatures, nature is telling your flock it’s time to take a break. You can let your hens have their ‘winter break’, or you can implement some simple measures that encourages them to keep laying even after the fall molt. Adding new pullets to your flock every year can be one way to get eggs during the winter when your older hens take a break. Regardless, you priority should be to keep your flock healthy and warm during the winter months, even if that means less eggs for you!
Get more tips for keeping your homestead flock healthy though the winter by checking out our Winter Chicken Keeping ebook or joining our modern pioneer newsletter community!
by Alexa
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