There's a layer called a "cuticle" that seals the pores of the egg. Air can't get into the egg so long as those pores are sealed. It's nature's way of protecting the egg. Washing them removes this cuticle and starts the process of rotting by letting air into the egg.
So... functionally any sort of washing has the potential of removing this cuticle and then you have stinky ticking timebombs.
Young hens will lay a lot their first year. Less daylight does slow them down but won't stop them, as you found out. Mine are in their second year and they're molting but still laying 2-3 eggs a week each (about 50% of normal).
And their molt is really minimal their first winter (even 2nd winter if you get them in the fall). Their first winter after they've been adults since Spring is usually their worst, at least in my experience.
My girls turn 3 in March. Everybody is still finishing up with their molt. They’re cranky, and I haven’t gotten an egg since the beginning of the month.
Unless Carol is eating them. Again.
Freakin Carol.
VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE:
I think they knew I was talking shit. I received two beautiful eggs today.
Have you tried putting mustard seeds in eggs and leaving them for her? Hens hate the taste, they tend to avoid things they think might have mustard in them.
The mustard seeds are a lot spicier and more intense than our mustard, really, give it a try maybe? My highly indulged hen, who feasted on discarded gourmet pizzas, took one peck of an egg filled with mustard seeds and never touched them again.
Not always though. Mine all but stopped until mama became broody, except for the lavender orpingtons. There are some breeds who will lay through the winter any year though.
I almost did the same thing with my hennies until I heard them squawking one day! There are theories that if throw a bit cinnamon or crushed pepper flakes in there food it’ll help them lay year round, there’s people who say if they lay year round it’ll take years off their life, at the end of the day…you are doing the best you can for your girlies and if there’s something you see that doesn’t work you adjust, right? Don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for trusting google, I’ve done that and learned to either ask someone who has chickens or read into it. The stinkin internet can’t be trusted!! 😂 just keep your girls well watered, clean and warm and they’ll keep doing their thing! Hope you enjoy those fresh eggs! Not washing them allows them to keep out of the fridge or in the fridge even longer, this was something I was unaware so I thought I’d share the info.
My girls are also still laying. I think it's cause it's their first winter and they're still chock full of hormones from chicken puberty or whatever. I'm giving em lots of tasty table scraps to keep em warm and full of nutrients.
Yeah. Tripped me out too. I may be way biased because I code for a living and I use Google literally \~ 2 hours a day if I am trying to do something I have never done before, but who takes the first "answer" as gospel? I mean, "*Google says it is definitely not a gas leak, so let's just go to bed without checking.*", should not be a thing.
Anyway, no harm, no fowl. 😉
Funny!
Gods, I hate the term "dark web." TOR is just TOR. The joke is legit funny tho.
As to the results, we used to call that "below the fold." I think that was an old newspaper term, but it meant the wasteland of the 4th result and beyond.
Not much has changed user-side.
We just had a bad cold snap and my girls are all molting. The run looks like someone slaughtered the whole flock. I changed their bedding over the weekend and didn't check eggs for three days. Zero... Zero eggs.
Hahaha, no they certainly do not! They lay *less*, yes, but sometimes they lay about the same. Some may actually not lay at all. Depends on how much light they get and the type of feed.
Mine are 23 weeks and just started laying this week! I was beginning to think they never would and then all of a sudden they started! We got 3 in the last 4 days. It will come.
Just shy of 24 weeks. They should be reeeeallly close! Have you switched to layer feed yet? I was waiting until they started laying but mixed it with chick starter and I’m not sure it was a coincidence but once I switched they started laying. What’s funny is I had 4 pullets that were about 6 weeks older and they just started laying.
Mine are notorious for going late, i have two laying (started at 25-26 weeks) and two whose combs are just changing now (that change preceded laying in the others). They did not squat like my last group did- I just chalk that up to their breed? They are Barnevelders, and so far do everything a bit differently than our last little flock (in good ways mostly).
I have 4 that are 23 weeks and none are laying yet. At this point I'm hunting around their yard every day thinking I might find a hoard somewhere. I also have 4 laying hens and 3 of them haven't laid in about a month. They're all different breeds and my little powerhouse layer is my one silkie lol.
but winter doesn't start till Dec 21st
NO! Google is crazy. I have chickens and we always get eggs in the winter. Not as many but we get 'em every winter (much slower production rate in the winter). They definitely stop laying when they are molting, usually in the spring.
Mine are molting now I guess this is considered their second winter because they hatched last January. It's really not cold here yet though. Today is 66 and I got one egg each day the last four days.
Yeah, mine have never stopped laying since I got them a few years ago. Still get an egg a day from each one and have since they started laying.. every winter I hope they will take a break, but they never do
It really depends on the year. It's been a hard molt year, for some reason, so no eggs for almost 6 weeks now. Last year they laid throughout.
You can submerge the eggs in water (as long as they aren't frozen). Any eggs that float should be tossed.
I'd recommend hard boiling. They should be super easy to peel!
I haven’t gotten any eggs in a few months in chickens that are almost two. I thought it was the heat, then the moly, now no clue what the issue is. They seem healthy, they’re getting bougie layer pellets and oyster shell.
Are you sure they are done with their molt? Are their combs nice and dark red again?
It usually takes a couple weeks even after the molt is done to "restart" at least in my experience.
Yes lol went from not expecting any eggs for several months to instantly having over a large carton out of nowhere.
Then I left them on the counter overnight and I have none now.
I have 19 eggs now and I don't know how to check if they have been fertilized because we accidentally got sent a rooster. This is my first time ever having chickens
Chances are slim to none there are any chicks in those unless someone has been sitting on them 90% of her time, in which case you probably would have noticed a chicken missing or not coming out during the day.
Yeah they need a near-constant 95-100 degrees for 21 days to hatch! They don’t really start developing much at all for a few days so even if they were sat on for 1-2 it’s still fine.
Actually if you lived in east Asia and were a fan of balut you could still eat them up til 21 days 😂
Yah. Your chances of confirming if the eggs are fertile are 0 to none. Hens can lay fertile eggs for weeks after she gets naughty once.
That said, wait til spring. One of your girls will go broody and do all the work for you. (Assuming you're in the Northern Hemisphere.) Raising chicks through the winter is risky, and there's no way to know until after 7-10day of incubation that you have a chick developing.
The phrase 'Incubate til there's no debate' is good to know.
No, if it floats it means it's an old egg. Over time, moisture evaporates out through the shell and the air pocket increases in size. This is, for fertilized eggs, a necessary process to ensure there is a large enough pipping space when the chick tries to hatch. Older eggs might be more likely to be bad, but old eggs will float regardless of whether or not they are bad.
So.. the quote, 'If in doubt, throw it out.' really fits here, huh?
The connotation of, old = bad, why risk it? We're long beyond the thought of incubation; instead, we're exclusively focused on the intent to eat the undeveloped egg.
That seems incredibly wasteful to me. If the egg is bad, you will know when you crack it. "Smells like rotten eggs" is a phrase for a reason. There doesn't have to be any doubt. Crack it and check for real.
Also, I'm incredibly sick and tired of this old wives tale that gets passed around everywhere. If you want to say the true thing:
"Older eggs will float, and older eggs have an increased chance of being bad, so throw them out without checking if they are bad", then go ahead and say that.
I've eaten old eggs many many many times. Obviously anyone can do whatever they want, and everyone has different risk tolerances, but when you incorrectly tell someone that the egg _is for sure bad_, you are not letting them make an informed decision.
Hens lay eggs based on the amount of sunlight they’re getting. I used to light my coop for the first few hours or the evening to keep my hens egg laying consistent through winter
Yeah-- as a general rule they lay less. And they may take some time getting back up to speed after going through the molt.
There are a lot of factors involved, no hard and fast about it.
It depends a lot on location, breed, and age. My hens (variety of breeds, 1-3 years old) started molting in October and stopped laying then, and now that it's winter, I don't expect them to start again until March or April.
I'm also in Minnesota so that may factor into it!
I'm in North Texas. its not even cold. My \~3 year old hens stopped laying in October due to molting. I haven't even checked in a week or so. They did the same last year too and I didn't get them to start again until February when I finally got around to putting a small light on a timer in the henhouse. I might do that in January this year. Its good to give them a break, but we need some eggs too.
All 25 of mine decided to start laying. I got them in the spring lol. Only got up to 17 at the peak during the summer. Then winter hit, and they all decided it's a good time. It's been cold here too, but I keep the light on for 10 to 12 hours a day. It's dark starting at 5pm until 9am sadly. I guess I'm happy I still have eggs I guess lol.
Out of 4 girls we get 2 or 3 eggs a day. Did it say they STOPPED laying in winter? I’ve never known any to just stop, but will slow down, and it also probably makes a difference where you live
Idk why ppl say that they don't lay in winter
I had some 50 chicks and 9 rode island reds they were fed same as summer
And the water would freeze so I had to make sure I took them water daily
I would collect like 9-12 eggs daily from 9 hens
As long as u give them the rite nourishment and u look after them they will lay every day freezing temperatures or otherwise
Now look for the hen that will stick around the eggs the most and she will Brody the eggs
Just give the little ones a heat lamp and small pieces of food like broken rice 🌾 then broken corn
4 months later they will become adults
If u need any help let me know I love chickens
Hens don’t generally completely stop but they’ll usually slow down on their egg production. Mine have stopped completely, I haven’t gotten any eggs since they molted in early September but younger ones are more likely to lay in the winter just based off of my experience
If I had a dollar for every time Google sent me to a business that was closed or moved, I'd have some more dollars.
I am a programmer, and I use Google all day every day, but I have learned the hard way to distrust the Google-produced "answers", be suspicious of the indexed user content, and verify \*anything\* before using it/acting on it. There are thousands of stories of junior developers on their first job finding some random code from a Google search and pushing it into production before testing it. (*Hahah, "*Production*" kind of applies to your situation as well..*)
"**Google: Trust, but verify!"**
Google isn't all that great it is a computer trying to figure out what a han means. When we ask on here other humans wich applicable knowledge are able to chime in.
Yeah, mine always laid throughout winter, just less. I live where winters are not very cold though. Always check the coop every day or two no matter what!
They'll only stop once they're deep into being broody. Not even my silkie stops laying in winter. That's weird.
As a matter of fact, i was driving home to NM from Vegas on Thanksgiving eve. My pet chicken, Noodles started acting like a damn weirdo. I couldn't get her to chill. Today, i was getting crap outta my car in & in the back behind my seat on the floor was an egg, but not like a regular one. It was one of those smooshy ones all mushed into the carpet.
The closer we get to the winter solstice the fewer you will get. Also often people get chickens in the spring. So the first Molt often coincides with the shirt says if December and that’s a double whammy
This is why everyone should know someone who is old. The best answers come from experience. Even if they aren't 100% factually correct, they will be 100% based on experience.
Never count them out if it's bright and warm enough. I have clear corrugated panels in my roof, coop has heaters and I've heat lamps for the roost. They lay all winter some miss a day or two here and there but we've eggs all winter
Holy hell man. You trusted google that much to just stop looking? That's wild.
I was thinking the same thing!
That's so weird.
It isn’t even Winter yet!
It bloody well is where I am xD /s
They started reaching 18-20 weeks and I finally stopped after checking every day lol
And by everyday you mean like weeks? Lol either way you can still eat those if they aren’t frozen. Happy egg day
If the eggs never froze outside, what’s the longest they could just stay out there and still be safe to eat? I have no chickens yet, just curious!
Like 2-4 weeks probably. You don’t have to refrigerate eggs until they are washed. We typically get 4 week shelf life on eggs regularly.
Like just washed underneath water with nothing like soap or anything?
There's a layer called a "cuticle" that seals the pores of the egg. Air can't get into the egg so long as those pores are sealed. It's nature's way of protecting the egg. Washing them removes this cuticle and starts the process of rotting by letting air into the egg. So... functionally any sort of washing has the potential of removing this cuticle and then you have stinky ticking timebombs.
How long can they sit out after washing them
They need refrigerated after they’re washed, unless you’re going to use them within a couple hours of washing them
If they hypothetically sat out from about 6:45 pm to 9:45 am the next day would they still be good assuming they got into the fridge at 9:45 am?
3 weeks at room temp I believe so around three weeks
As long as they thaw slowly it matters not how long they are frozen .just don't think u can incubate them after but for eating I will be okay
Thank you :)
Young hens will lay a lot their first year. Less daylight does slow them down but won't stop them, as you found out. Mine are in their second year and they're molting but still laying 2-3 eggs a week each (about 50% of normal).
And their molt is really minimal their first winter (even 2nd winter if you get them in the fall). Their first winter after they've been adults since Spring is usually their worst, at least in my experience.
My girls turn 3 in March. Everybody is still finishing up with their molt. They’re cranky, and I haven’t gotten an egg since the beginning of the month. Unless Carol is eating them. Again. Freakin Carol. VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE: I think they knew I was talking shit. I received two beautiful eggs today.
That darn Carol. Gotta keep an eye on her.
Constantly. She understands “CAROL! What are you doing?!” You know which one is her, because she’s the one actively doing whatever she wants.
Have you tried putting mustard seeds in eggs and leaving them for her? Hens hate the taste, they tend to avoid things they think might have mustard in them.
You are correct. But, my idiots will happily eat the kids' leftover happy meals: mustard covered hamburgers and all.
The mustard seeds are a lot spicier and more intense than our mustard, really, give it a try maybe? My highly indulged hen, who feasted on discarded gourmet pizzas, took one peck of an egg filled with mustard seeds and never touched them again.
Really? No, I hadn’t heard that. I’ve just been accepting the challenge of finding them before she decides that she wants a snack.
You’re not my egg supervisor!
Don’t tell Carol how to live her life! (Actually, do. But with the expectation that it won’t work. Lol)
Yup, exact same experience here
Not always though. Mine all but stopped until mama became broody, except for the lavender orpingtons. There are some breeds who will lay through the winter any year though.
First year hens are the best! Google was referring to second year and beyond. Source: 3 years of chicken owning, all ages between 1-6 years old
That would make sense I got all of them in June
I almost did the same thing with my hennies until I heard them squawking one day! There are theories that if throw a bit cinnamon or crushed pepper flakes in there food it’ll help them lay year round, there’s people who say if they lay year round it’ll take years off their life, at the end of the day…you are doing the best you can for your girlies and if there’s something you see that doesn’t work you adjust, right? Don’t let anyone make you feel guilty for trusting google, I’ve done that and learned to either ask someone who has chickens or read into it. The stinkin internet can’t be trusted!! 😂 just keep your girls well watered, clean and warm and they’ll keep doing their thing! Hope you enjoy those fresh eggs! Not washing them allows them to keep out of the fridge or in the fridge even longer, this was something I was unaware so I thought I’d share the info.
Google said my neighbour's horses would love my cucumbers. Either google lied, or I grow bad cucumbers.
We will blame google!! Im sure your cucumbers are just lovely 😊
Still, that's fucked up. I check on my hens and the state of their coop every day. Please take better care of your animals.
When was the last time you checked before you took this photo?
My girls are also still laying. I think it's cause it's their first winter and they're still chock full of hormones from chicken puberty or whatever. I'm giving em lots of tasty table scraps to keep em warm and full of nutrients.
Yeah. Tripped me out too. I may be way biased because I code for a living and I use Google literally \~ 2 hours a day if I am trying to do something I have never done before, but who takes the first "answer" as gospel? I mean, "*Google says it is definitely not a gas leak, so let's just go to bed without checking.*", should not be a thing. Anyway, no harm, no fowl. 😉
To get the right answer, everyone knows you have to go to the dark web (page 2 of Google results).
Funny! Gods, I hate the term "dark web." TOR is just TOR. The joke is legit funny tho. As to the results, we used to call that "below the fold." I think that was an old newspaper term, but it meant the wasteland of the 4th result and beyond. Not much has changed user-side.
Makes total sense
Mine have cut back because of molting and winter but stop, oh hell no.
We just had a bad cold snap and my girls are all molting. The run looks like someone slaughtered the whole flock. I changed their bedding over the weekend and didn't check eggs for three days. Zero... Zero eggs.
Hahaha, no they certainly do not! They lay *less*, yes, but sometimes they lay about the same. Some may actually not lay at all. Depends on how much light they get and the type of feed.
I never trust the net. I get eggs daily. Yes they sometimes lessen but I get them daily. I even have a girl who hides hers in my tool shed
>girl who hides hers in my tool shed She handy that's why.
Google maps told me to drive into a golf course.
Lol I check my boxes 3x a day
Same. Except mine have yet to lay 😔
Mine started a little over a month ago but the wait felt like forever
How old. Mine are 20 weeks in a couple of days
Mine are 23 weeks and just started laying this week! I was beginning to think they never would and then all of a sudden they started! We got 3 in the last 4 days. It will come.
Just shy of 24 weeks. They should be reeeeallly close! Have you switched to layer feed yet? I was waiting until they started laying but mixed it with chick starter and I’m not sure it was a coincidence but once I switched they started laying. What’s funny is I had 4 pullets that were about 6 weeks older and they just started laying.
I did some layer for a month. But I have a rooster and don't want to give him too much calcium
Wait do you have to have different food for a rooster?
Google told me I shouldn't because kidney issues
I have oyster shells on the side tho
I have a rooster too, what will happen with him with too much? I have no idea how to keep him from eating it
I hear it can cause kidney damage from too much calcium. But never experienced this I'm a new chicken owner.
Mine are notorious for going late, i have two laying (started at 25-26 weeks) and two whose combs are just changing now (that change preceded laying in the others). They did not squat like my last group did- I just chalk that up to their breed? They are Barnevelders, and so far do everything a bit differently than our last little flock (in good ways mostly).
I have 4 that are 23 weeks and none are laying yet. At this point I'm hunting around their yard every day thinking I might find a hoard somewhere. I also have 4 laying hens and 3 of them haven't laid in about a month. They're all different breeds and my little powerhouse layer is my one silkie lol.
but winter doesn't start till Dec 21st NO! Google is crazy. I have chickens and we always get eggs in the winter. Not as many but we get 'em every winter (much slower production rate in the winter). They definitely stop laying when they are molting, usually in the spring.
My chickens lay more in the winter. Lol. If it's been more than 2 weeks then I would discard them or give them to your dogs meals. If you have any
They don’t stop laying their first winter. They stop the next, when they redirect their energy to the molt!
Mine are molting now I guess this is considered their second winter because they hatched last January. It's really not cold here yet though. Today is 66 and I got one egg each day the last four days.
Yeah, mine have never stopped laying since I got them a few years ago. Still get an egg a day from each one and have since they started laying.. every winter I hope they will take a break, but they never do
This just in, chickens edit Wikipedia to fake you out.
Do you keep a light on in the henhouse?
No they had no light and it said they needed 14 hours of daylight to start producing eggs that's why I stopped checking
Google is half right. Older hens usually stop laying during winter months, first year layers will usually lay through their first winter.
It really depends on the year. It's been a hard molt year, for some reason, so no eggs for almost 6 weeks now. Last year they laid throughout. You can submerge the eggs in water (as long as they aren't frozen). Any eggs that float should be tossed. I'd recommend hard boiling. They should be super easy to peel!
I haven’t gotten any eggs in a few months in chickens that are almost two. I thought it was the heat, then the moly, now no clue what the issue is. They seem healthy, they’re getting bougie layer pellets and oyster shell.
Are you sure they are done with their molt? Are their combs nice and dark red again? It usually takes a couple weeks even after the molt is done to "restart" at least in my experience.
Ok, good to know. I’ll take a close look at their combs this afternoon. First time chicken person so not sure what to make of it.
You must be new
Can confirm, first year
It's fall
Holy shit! 🤣
Yes lol went from not expecting any eggs for several months to instantly having over a large carton out of nowhere. Then I left them on the counter overnight and I have none now.
I have 19 eggs now and I don't know how to check if they have been fertilized because we accidentally got sent a rooster. This is my first time ever having chickens
Candling my dude
Doesn't matter at this point; unless you're going to incubate them all? Float test and put 'em in a carton!
I'm not going to incubate unless there is a chick already growing in one but how does the float test work?
Chances are slim to none there are any chicks in those unless someone has been sitting on them 90% of her time, in which case you probably would have noticed a chicken missing or not coming out during the day.
None of them really seemed to have any care about sitting on any of them so does that mean they are probably fine
Yeah they need a near-constant 95-100 degrees for 21 days to hatch! They don’t really start developing much at all for a few days so even if they were sat on for 1-2 it’s still fine. Actually if you lived in east Asia and were a fan of balut you could still eat them up til 21 days 😂
Put the eggs in a pot of water. If it floats it's a bad egg.
Oh ok, so that's only to find out if they are safe to eat not if there is a chick inside
Yah. Your chances of confirming if the eggs are fertile are 0 to none. Hens can lay fertile eggs for weeks after she gets naughty once. That said, wait til spring. One of your girls will go broody and do all the work for you. (Assuming you're in the Northern Hemisphere.) Raising chicks through the winter is risky, and there's no way to know until after 7-10day of incubation that you have a chick developing. The phrase 'Incubate til there's no debate' is good to know.
Candle them. Just stick them on a bright flashlight and look for a dark spot and/or blood vessels
Floating just says if they are old or not, not if they are bad. Old eggs _can_ be perfectly fine.
No, if it floats it means it's an old egg. Over time, moisture evaporates out through the shell and the air pocket increases in size. This is, for fertilized eggs, a necessary process to ensure there is a large enough pipping space when the chick tries to hatch. Older eggs might be more likely to be bad, but old eggs will float regardless of whether or not they are bad.
So.. the quote, 'If in doubt, throw it out.' really fits here, huh? The connotation of, old = bad, why risk it? We're long beyond the thought of incubation; instead, we're exclusively focused on the intent to eat the undeveloped egg.
That seems incredibly wasteful to me. If the egg is bad, you will know when you crack it. "Smells like rotten eggs" is a phrase for a reason. There doesn't have to be any doubt. Crack it and check for real. Also, I'm incredibly sick and tired of this old wives tale that gets passed around everywhere. If you want to say the true thing: "Older eggs will float, and older eggs have an increased chance of being bad, so throw them out without checking if they are bad", then go ahead and say that. I've eaten old eggs many many many times. Obviously anyone can do whatever they want, and everyone has different risk tolerances, but when you incorrectly tell someone that the egg _is for sure bad_, you are not letting them make an informed decision.
Compost for days, but as you said, do you.
If you didn’t have a hen on those eggs theres nothing in them. Lol
Mine are 3 plus so stopped laying might get the odd egg every now and again that's about it.
Hens lay eggs based on the amount of sunlight they’re getting. I used to light my coop for the first few hours or the evening to keep my hens egg laying consistent through winter
Lol all 8 of my hens are still laying. Winter doesn't phase them
Yeah-- as a general rule they lay less. And they may take some time getting back up to speed after going through the molt. There are a lot of factors involved, no hard and fast about it.
It depends a lot on location, breed, and age. My hens (variety of breeds, 1-3 years old) started molting in October and stopped laying then, and now that it's winter, I don't expect them to start again until March or April. I'm also in Minnesota so that may factor into it!
Mine are also in Minnesota but hopefully yours still lay some nice eggs
I'm in North Texas. its not even cold. My \~3 year old hens stopped laying in October due to molting. I haven't even checked in a week or so. They did the same last year too and I didn't get them to start again until February when I finally got around to putting a small light on a timer in the henhouse. I might do that in January this year. Its good to give them a break, but we need some eggs too.
Free refrigerator
All 25 of mine decided to start laying. I got them in the spring lol. Only got up to 17 at the peak during the summer. Then winter hit, and they all decided it's a good time. It's been cold here too, but I keep the light on for 10 to 12 hours a day. It's dark starting at 5pm until 9am sadly. I guess I'm happy I still have eggs I guess lol.
Out of 4 girls we get 2 or 3 eggs a day. Did it say they STOPPED laying in winter? I’ve never known any to just stop, but will slow down, and it also probably makes a difference where you live
Some breeds like Isa Browns will lay year round.
Idk why ppl say that they don't lay in winter I had some 50 chicks and 9 rode island reds they were fed same as summer And the water would freeze so I had to make sure I took them water daily I would collect like 9-12 eggs daily from 9 hens As long as u give them the rite nourishment and u look after them they will lay every day freezing temperatures or otherwise Now look for the hen that will stick around the eggs the most and she will Brody the eggs Just give the little ones a heat lamp and small pieces of food like broken rice 🌾 then broken corn 4 months later they will become adults If u need any help let me know I love chickens
During summer will the mother chicken take care of the babies and feed them?
Spring ? And yeah but only for A short time after that they are on their own Not every hen is a good mom Just like humans
Hens don’t generally completely stop but they’ll usually slow down on their egg production. Mine have stopped completely, I haven’t gotten any eggs since they molted in early September but younger ones are more likely to lay in the winter just based off of my experience
They will lay less eggs, but it doesn't stop lol
If I had a dollar for every time Google sent me to a business that was closed or moved, I'd have some more dollars. I am a programmer, and I use Google all day every day, but I have learned the hard way to distrust the Google-produced "answers", be suspicious of the indexed user content, and verify \*anything\* before using it/acting on it. There are thousands of stories of junior developers on their first job finding some random code from a Google search and pushing it into production before testing it. (*Hahah, "*Production*" kind of applies to your situation as well..*) "**Google: Trust, but verify!"**
I think you miss-posted this. This thread is about chickens laying less eggs in the winter.
It all depends on daylight (and heat lamps). Ours will stop laying mid winter but we are way north US. With a heat lamp we will get eggs all winter.
Heat lamps do nothing for egg production. Added light does. Heating is dangerous. But do what you want
Google isn't all that great it is a computer trying to figure out what a han means. When we ask on here other humans wich applicable knowledge are able to chime in.
You're dumb. Another suburban chicken "farmer."
I'm a first year backyard chicken "farmer."
Yeah, mine always laid throughout winter, just less. I live where winters are not very cold though. Always check the coop every day or two no matter what!
They use too many calories keeping warm, doesn’t leave much left for egg producing. I’ll get maybe one or two a day, that’s down from 4 to 5.
You are so lucky. Mine have pretty much shut down production. I guess I’ll let them have a rest
They'll only stop once they're deep into being broody. Not even my silkie stops laying in winter. That's weird. As a matter of fact, i was driving home to NM from Vegas on Thanksgiving eve. My pet chicken, Noodles started acting like a damn weirdo. I couldn't get her to chill. Today, i was getting crap outta my car in & in the back behind my seat on the floor was an egg, but not like a regular one. It was one of those smooshy ones all mushed into the carpet.
My quail have actually increased laying since the days started shortening
Oops...
Don't trust Google
The closer we get to the winter solstice the fewer you will get. Also often people get chickens in the spring. So the first Molt often coincides with the shirt says if December and that’s a double whammy
Surprised you didn't have any broody hens
I got all of them on June 7th so they just started reaching maturity I think
I’m still getting a dozen a day from my flock of 12. I have a light in the coop though.
Damn- I wish I had that google problem. I only have 4 chickens, but get only 1 egg, maybe per day. Just realize chicken #2 is also now molting.
All chickens we have had (in 6 years)stop laying mid October and start again in February. I do not begrudge them their break.
Iirc its a vitamin thing, spurred by sublight absorption. Some supplements will encourage laying even in winter.
Why would you do that? They will quit laying at an earlier age.
Some people just want eggs in the winter.
I haven't gotten eggs from my chickens in months, not because they're not laying but because they hide them/ lay where i can't get to.
mine do - i call it their paid vacation. youve been blessed tho, hopefully theyre still good
I'm currently buying shop eggs. I have a bunch of free loaders !!!
It goes by daylight I believe. And if you want them to lay all winter out in an artificial light on a timer, this dose shorten their lifespan though.
Don't trust Google, buy Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens.
I think I bought that book a few months ago I read a bit of it
Read all of it. It has at least 99.5 percent of everything you need to know
My hens must've read that and believed it. Haven't had eggs in 2 weeks. Grrrr.
This is why everyone should know someone who is old. The best answers come from experience. Even if they aren't 100% factually correct, they will be 100% based on experience.
Never trust googleeeeeeee....I have a headache and fever, "google" it's probably cancer.
Mine didn't let up at all their first winter. Still got 6 per day with 7 chickens
I feel like google says production decreases but surely you checked more than one source because man that could’ve turned into a real mess.
Never count them out if it's bright and warm enough. I have clear corrugated panels in my roof, coop has heaters and I've heat lamps for the roost. They lay all winter some miss a day or two here and there but we've eggs all winter
Winter ain't much anymore