Why Do Chickens Stop Laying Eggs When It's Cold?
Ah, the good ol days. Summer.
When the days were longer, the weather was milder, and our chickens reliably laid fresh eggs every morning. Those morning scrambles were a delight!
While we no longer sell eggs on a commercial scale, Lew—our four year old—hatched his own flock of laying hens this spring so he could have fresh eggs to eat (and to sell a few here and there to some of our long standing customers).
Up until about two weeks ago, we had been so impressed at how well our chickens were laying despite the weather.
That is, until the most recent cold snap hit…and the laying shut down like we’d flicked a switch!
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Do Chickens Stop Laying Eggs in the Winter?
Unfortunately, yes. Chickens often stop laying eggs in the winter, or at the very least, their production tends to slow to a screeching halt.
We had been waiting for this to happen and just feel fortunate they held off as long as they did.
A lot of people don't realize this, but chickens slow or sometimes completely stop laying eggs when it’s cold out.
It’s beautiful, in many ways - the birds are simply following nature’s cues to take winter as a time of rest (perhaps an instinct we should all heed!).
However, in other ways, it’s frustrating! Lew was relying on the eggs to sell to his customers, and we were disappointed not to have fresh eggs to eat in our scrambles every morning, too.
There are ways you can get around this, including putting a light in the chicken coop and providing additional feed, but in today’s post, I want to explain why it happens in the first place - a bit of a biology lesson, if you will.
The Biology Behind Egg Production
For those of you who don’t know, hens lay eggs as part of their natural reproductive cycle, even if they don’t have a mate (the rooster). Egg development is driven primarily by hormonal changes in a hen’s body and is stimulated by certain factors, which we’ll get into below.
As a side note, lots of folks wonder whether the eggs they buy at the grocery store, if placed in an incubator, will hatch into a chick.
Most of the time, the answer is no.
Typically, commercial laying hens are not kept with roosters, so the eggs are never fertilized - and as you probably remember from your bio classes, fertilization needs to happen.
What Causes Chickens to Stop Laying Eggs When It’s Cold?
In short, it's a built-in seasonal rhythm allowing the birds to conserve energy and rest. This period of reduced laying is coordinated by several biological and environmental factors, including daylight, molting, and cold temperatures.
1. Reduced Daylight Hours
The primary trigger for egg production is light, and chickens’ hormonal cycles are closely tied to the daylight they receive. Chickens sense light through sensitive pineal glands atop their heads. For hens to produce eggs, these glands need to detect an adequate amount of light to initiate hormonal changes.
When daylight hours shorten, the glands receive less stimulation, signaling the hens to slow down laying. While there’s no universal rule for how much light is necessary—it depends on the bird’s age and breed—a decrease in natural light directly impacts egg production. In general, chickens need around 14 to 16 hours of light per day.
2. Molting in the Fall
Molting, a process chickens go through at about one year old, is another major factor. Molting involves shedding old feathers and growing new ones—a process that requires significant energy.
This often coincides with fall, leaving a bird’s body prioritizing feather growth over egg production just as winter starts. While molting hasn’t been a challenge for our flock this winter, it’s a common cause of reduced laying for many.
3. The Impact of Cold Weather
The final factor that can cause chickens to lay fewer (or zero) eggs in the winter is the cold, which is likely what’s caused our most recent decline in egg production.
Nobody likes being cold, and chickens are no exception. When a hen is cold, her body uses more energy to stay warm rather than on making eggs.
Again, this varies based on the age, breed, and stress level of the chicken, as well as how long the hen has had to acclimate to the colder temperatures.
This year, it was relatively warm right up until the end of December (has anybody else noticed that “fall” no longer really exists here in the North Country?) so there wasn’t a lot of time for our hens to get used to the cold, especially when you consider that this is their first-ever winter.
Do Chickens Completely Stop Laying in Winter?
So, what’s an omelette lover to do?
Contrary to popular belief, it’s actually not wise to heat a chicken coop, for more reasons than one. The biggest and perhaps most obvious problem is that it poses a risk of fire. Dry bedding + heat = chicken barbecue.
Heating a chicken coop is also detrimental because of the risk of power outages. Think about your body’s reaction when you step outside into the cold after being in your nice, warm car. It’s jarring to your system, isn’t it? After you’ve been outside for a while, ideally with the proper clothing, it doesn’t feel quite as bad, but that first shock can be quite a doozy.
The same happens to chickens. If the power were to go out and cut the heat to your chicken coop, it could do more harm than good.
So here’s what we do instead.
Provide Supplemental Light
In the past, we used to add a light to the chicken coop to encourage laying, which is another tried and true way to keep egg production up through the winter. This does work, but it’s not necessarily the healthiest for the chickens.
Since light is the primary trigger for egg-laying cycles, providing supplemental lighting in the chicken coop can extend laying through the winter months. Setting a light on a timer to mimic 14–16 hours of daylight can stimulate the pineal glands and signal hens to lay.
However, while this method does work and it works quite well, it’s worth considering its impact on the birds. Without that break through the winter months, hens stop laying when they’re younger and typically don’t live as long.
Therefore, I recommend that you use this strategy sparingly or during particularly low-egg periods to avoid overworking the flock.
Enrich Their Diet
For now, we’re focusing on providing the best possible nutrition we can to our chickens and making sure they’re able to access enough calcium, protein, and other things they need in order to stay healthy and lay well (or at least, as much as their bodies can handle).
As best as you can, offer feed with optimal levels of:
Calcium: Ensure consistent shell quality. Add crushed oyster shells or calcium supplements to their feed.
Protein: Essential for energy and the egg-laying process. This might include mealworms, fishmeal, or soy feed during colder months.
Other Nutrients: Add treats like leafy greens or vegetables for an additional nutrient boost.
Nutritional support ensures healthy hens and, when their natural rhythms allow, eggs throughout winter.
Prevent Drafts in the Coop
Rather than heating the coop (which poses risks like fires or abrupt temperature changes during power outages), focus on insulating it properly and preventing drafts. Use weatherproof materials to seal gaps and provide roosting perches. Roosting helps chickens huddle together, conserving heat and keeping warm during freezing nights.
Avoid Stress
Stress impacts hens’ ability to lay eggs year-round, but it’s particularly detrimental during the winter, which is already a stressful time.
Reduce disruptions around the coop and offer plenty of space for your flock to move around. Stress-related factors such as overcrowding, lack of clean water, or predator threats during winter could disrupt their routines even further.
In it For the Long Haul
There you have it! Everything you need to know about why laying drops off in the winter (and how to fix it…or at least, learn to live with it).
Personally, we’ve been fortunate that our winters haven’t been horrible the last few years, so we don’t think the dip will last too long.
Stay warm, everyone!
Want to learn more about raising chickens? Be sure to check out these articles!
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