All summer, the coop gave you an egg a day. Now the nest boxes are almost empty and the hens look scruffy. Backyard chicken keepers worry every fall, and often reach for the wrong solution. Here is the real reason your hens stopped laying, and what actually helps them through winter.
The real reason: light, not cold
A hen’s laying is driven by day length. According to the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, a consistent 14 to 16 hours of daylight supports optimal laying. In winter, many US regions drop to 9 or 10 hours. Fewer hours of light, fewer eggs: it’s a natural rhythm, not a sign of illness.
On top of that, fall is molting season. Adult hens typically molt once a year, often from August through October. They lose and regrow their feathers, and that takes a lot of protein: laying slows or stops for several weeks, sometimes months.
What to feed them in winter
- Layer feed first: a complete layer feed should be the base of the diet, not kitchen scraps or bread.
- Extra protein during the molt: the extension service suggests a higher-protein feed or a supplement such as mealworms. Feathers are almost pure protein.
- Calcium on the side: a separate dish of crushed oyster shell lets each hen take what she needs for strong shells.
- Go easy on treats: a handful of scratch grains in the late afternoon helps hens keep warm overnight, but too many treats dilute the nutrients in their feed.
- Unfrozen water, always: a hen without water stops laying fast. A heated waterer or several changes a day in freezing weather make a real difference.
Should you add light?
Some keepers add a light on a timer in the coop to reach about 14 hours, preferably in the early morning, so the hens go to roost naturally at dusk. According to the University of Arizona, supplemental light does not shorten a hen’s laying life, as long as nutrition is balanced. Others prefer to let their hens rest in winter. Both choices are valid.
The evening routine in the coop
Before nightfall, check that the coop is dry and free of drafts at roost level, but still ventilated: moisture is more dangerous than cold, and causes frostbite on combs. Close the door securely: in winter, predators are hungry too.
The limit
No food will make a molting hen lay like in June. Age matters too: hens lay best in their first one or two years, and laying often becomes sporadic by age 3 or 4. If a hen looks lethargic or stops eating, it’s no longer a question of season: call a vet who treats poultry.
Hens are not the only backyard birds that need help when it gets cold: here’s how to protect chickadees in winter, and 5 things to do this fall for backyard birds.
Layer feed, a little protein, unfrozen water and patience until spring. That’s the trick.
