…because she was always the most dependable egg-layer. Not especially good eggs unless you like them small and green, but one egg a day like a nervous, spastic little machine.
But I was beginning to think none of them were ever planning to lay an egg again.
And it’s usual for them to molt in winter, so we get a slim month or six weeks. But check this out…
November…
December…
Where we just stopped wasting marker ink recording the obvious.
January!
At the very end of January, almost three months after these freeloaders started to molt, we finally got an egg. Sure, they’ll throttle back in winter, molt or no molt, because the days are so short. But I’ve never seen a dry winter like this one.
Gotta say: While eggs are available in stores, nobody raises laying hens because it’s economical. It ain’t.
Yeah but that dark orange yolk and thick whites that stand about a half inch thick in the skillit make it worthy the labor .
You just need extra lighting in the chicken coop to extend their daylight.
Of course, that takes power…
What Steve said….
An LED bulb that kicks on at dusk and off after a couple hours, then on again for a bit in the AM and you will get your normal amount of eggs.
Mark and Steve have hit on a good idea. You could get a Chicken Coop LED light that is battery powered with a small solar panel to charge the battery. Add a mechanical timer and you’re in business.
https://timelinepets.com/best-solar-powered-chicken-coop-light/
Just plug in a heat lamp via extension cord and use an LED light.