The girls quit laying as usual but they quit 100%. They were molting then the daylight got short. Many of the girls are getting older and need culled. I figured I would add a light and see if they start laying again. Typically I don't and let them have the winter off get enough eggs for the family from the now and then birds since we don't supply customers in the winter. But zero is not ok. I moved the coup to where I can get power to it and put in a light 4 days ago. It's been several year since I put a light on them in the winter but seems like it took about a week and a half before they started laying again. I figured I would give them 3 weeks and if they don't start by then cull them all and start over in spring. we'll all except my wife few pet birds. I'm not going to buy feed and eggs both.

So is my memory correct it sould be about a week and a half to 3 weeks and if they have not started by then get rid of them?

Should have started the light before the daylight hours dropped under 12 hours, would have just kept them going, a light now might not kick start them right away, I never tried it adding light around now. You might have better luck starting the light at the amount of natural light now and add more every couple days until you get to 12-13 hours, like would happen in the spring, either way it may take some time to get them laying again

Older birds that are moulting are taking the winter off, which is not a bad thing. Without light, they are on the roost (no food, no water) for about 14 hours. Combined with the cold, rough time to be a chicken. If you do add light, add it in the morning to wake them up early. Let them go to roost at dusk as per usual.

But either way, they will start picking up the pace again in mid Jan. Pretty much back to normal by early Feb. Then let them run until the replacement pullets start laying in the fall. Then they get swapped out.

I've got 18 birds, this is their 2nd winter. Half are in moult. Getting 1 to 2 eggs per day. Goes with the territory. But I also knew this was coming, so started holding eggs back. Stopped selling about a month ago. So hope to have enough eggs to do us until the pace picks up again.

I should also mention that with chickens, the windows that let in the light face south into the winter sun. Not everybody knows this. Have seen people put them on the north side of buildings, or in shade of trees, which in winter means they are in eternal darkness and bitter cold. No place to be a chicken........or anything in the dead of winter. I know of one chicken house that was placed where it is because it was convenient for the owner. It gets some winter sun, but only for a few hours in the middle of the day. Shaded early, shaded late. Their production is way off too.

BTW, I should also mention, the poultry husbandry books will tell you that at birth, a laying hen has about 700 or so potential eggs in her. That is over a lifetime. If they lay 280 or so the first season, and 250 or so the 2nd, they are pretty much done. By third of fourth year, same chicken that might have laid 5 or 6 eggs per week when she was a pullet may now only lay 2 or 3 per week. And maybe none in winter.......for 2 months or more. So best plan is to keep them for only 2 laying seasons, then swap them out for fresh birds.

If it's just a pause, your chickens should start laying again within a little over a week or less. If they went into a molt, it will likely take around 8 weeks, before they lay again.

Temporarily feeding a higher protein diet, to replace the the keratin needed to develop feathers, speeds the molt. Once the molt is done, switch back to a layer ration.

Keith

My chickens get fifteen hours of light per day. The timer comes on at 3:30 AM off at 8:00 AM, back on at 3:00 PM and goes off at 6:30 PM. They have always pretty much ignored the evening light and go to roost around sunset. We run the light times from early fall until spring.

It definitely helps with egg production although they still slow down in winter. Before we started using the light egg production all but stopped during the winter.

I don't know how long it will take your birds to respond to the light but I'd go ahead and get it started.

anyone have suggestions for a good battery/solar timmer light good enough for a 16×6 chicken house?

Didn't you move the coop to power?

I just ran an extension cord, a single 40w bulb and a plug in lamp timer in my small coop, you don't need a lot of light, can't help with a battery setup

I have power to my coop as well, for the lights and the water heater base.

I just put the light and a new hot plate in the coop 4 days ago.

Light comes on 2:30 am ..off at 8 am..then just south facing windows for daytime light.

Birds stopped laying about 6 weeks ago...and at 4.59 dozen..

They are getting the light now...got one egg yesterday ..out of 13 birds.

It's a sign....lol

All I remember is dad would have lights on in the coop at least 12 hours a day, on a timer.
He would fence off 2/3 of the coop so the chickens body heat kept the water liquid.
Never had water heaters in the coop.
500 To 1000 chickens in the coop, was big time to me.
That was over 60 years ago.
Remember when they caught some disease , and us kids had to catch them, and bring them to dad to chop off their heads.
Once in a while one would strut around clucking without a head.
Built a big fire and burned they all.
We seemed to always have chickens after that, just not so many.
I'm not sure how people can feed chickens today and charge 2-2.50 a dozen , but some charge 3.00 for brown eggs.
Only because certain people believe brown eggs are better for them, lol.

9 hens here. Was getting 1-3 eggs a day for a few weeks. They stopped all together a couple weeks ago. Figured they were molting. Shot a couple deer in that time, so gave them the boned out necks from both deer. Not sure if all the extra protein helped with laying, but certainly didn't hurt. Got a doz eggs in last 5 days. Throw a skinned muskrat, coon or other chunk of meat into the run, the protein is good for them.