There are so many reasons why winter could be one of the seasons I could forfeit if I had the option too. Not only is it usually way to cold, but your favorite activities such as outdoor gardening are also affected. Even your chickens start laying fewer eggs, which is why you need to learn a few tricks to help you get more eggs from your chickens in winter?

Why Do Chickens Lay Fewer Eggs In Winter? In order for a chicken to lay eggs, two things are required.Firstly the right amount of body energy and secondly optimum hormone production. During the winter days tend to be shorter and the temperatures also take a dip, affecting the biological clock of your chickens and adversely affecting egg productions.

How To Get Your Chickens To Lay More Eggs In Winter — .

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5 Tips For Boosting Winter Egg Production

Tip #1: Increase Protein In Feed

In winter your girls will require more energy to keep them warm. By boosting the protein ratio in their feed, you can help them be healthier and also have more energy available for egg production.

Tip #2: Heat Up The Coop

The cold temperatures outside may make the coop chilly. Make sure your coop is well insulated and if necessary install or use a heat lamp to help keep your chickens warm, especially during the night.

Tip 3: Utilize Artificial Light

Chickens require a certain amount of sunlight every single day to regulate the hormones that simulate egg production. In the winter months, the days are shorter therefore using an artificial light can help increase the number of hours your chickens are exposed to ‘sunlight’ daily.

Tip #4: Deep Litter

You can start adding more straw and hay to your coop in the fall. By the time winter comes along you will have built a large layer of deep litter ‘bedding’ to help keep the girls warm and comfortable during those long winter nights.

Tip #5: Choose Winter Laying Breeds

If you are really serious about having plenty of eggs available during the winter, then you many have to consider adding choosing at least one winter laying breed for your flock. Consider Cochins, Brahmas and Australorps.

Generally speaking, even if you incorporate these tips, your chickens will never produce as many eggs in winter as the do in the warmer months. However, you may see a slight increase for example a hen that had stopped laying eggs altogether may start laying one to 3 eggs every week. They say half a loaf is better than nothing, I will take a few eggs a week over none. Wouldn’t you too?

You can get more information on the Weed Em And Reap blog, here…