Why Your Chickens Stopped Laying in Winter (and How to Help)
The mornings get dark, the basket gets light. If your hens have gone quiet, you're not doing anything wrong - winter does this. Here's what's behind the drop and what helps.
The real reason: daylight
Hens need roughly 14-16 hours of light to keep laying reliably. As Prairie daylight shrinks, production winds down. Cold makes it worse, but light is the lever.
The other causes
- Moult - regrowing feathers pauses laying.
- Age - older hens stop sooner.
- Cold stress - energy goes to staying warm.
- Water - a frozen fount quietly tanks production.
What helps
Add morning light
A timer-controlled coop light topping the day to 14-16 hours restarts most flocks. Add it in the morning, keep it low and warm. Some keepers give hens the winter off - both are valid.
Keep water liquid
A heated base or heated waterer keeps the flock drinking, which keeps them laying - the cheapest fix there is.
Feed for the season
A complete layer ration, plenty of it, with clean dry feeders so feed goes into the bird, not the bedding.
Manage cold and damp
Block drafts at bird height, keep ventilation up high. A damp coop is harder on hens than a cold dry one.
What not to do
Don't crank a heat lamp in a dry coop - it's a fire risk and hens handle cold better than people expect. See poultry supplies for the rest.
The bottom line
Short days are the main cause, with moult, age, cold and frozen water piling on. Add morning light, keep water liquid, feed well, and keep the coop dry - or give them the rest, on purpose.
- The Vastura crew
