I’m a little late to the party but here we go. We had been noticing that we just were not getting the eggs like we had been. Now there are reasons for this:
- Lazy. We just were not checking the boxes everyday and in the winter they freeze and burst and the girls, well, they get hungry and everybody likes chicken.
- The decrease in daylight. Production just goes down as the days get shorter.
- Water. During the summer they had watering cups in the run and your normal galvanized waterer out in the bigger open run. When freezing started we took our rain barrel and added a fish tank heater and circulation pump which runs to a pvc pipe with nipples. This prevents the water from freezing, keeps the water moving which keeps stagnation at bay and also keeps warm water constantly moving through the entire system. The nipples might make them feel like they just are not able to get as much water as easily and eggs are mostly water.
- Stress. In the winter things get boring we all feel the blues. Plus a few months ago a guinea hen wandered up here from parts unknown. We put her in the flock to keep her safe and waited to see if anyone came to claim her, they did not. I think it stressed the flock out.
