Farm & Flock The Cycle of Laying
Farm & Flock— presented by Chicken Whisperer Magazine ®
Why Egg Production Drops Off in the Fall
And What Can Be Done About It
By Steve Sniff e’ s up with the chickens.” That pre-industrial
“ Hexpression eventually came to refer to someone who is an early-riser. Along with its sibling expression, to“ go to bed with the chickens,” it was based on chickens’ natural rhythm of waking up at sunrise and returning to their roosts at dusk. As it turns out, that instinctive routine also accounts for their egg production’ s ebb and flow with the seasons. Understanding that relationship can help you decide whether to let nature take its course or encourage more consistent egg production year-round.
The Key is Daylight
Several factors influence egg production, but of all of them, daylight is the most important. Chickens are highly sensitive to changes in the length of the day, and their reproductive systems are closely tied to the amount of light they receive. As daylight hours decline in the autumn, a hen’ s body begins receiving signals that it is time to slow down reproduction and conserve resources for the coming winter. As Chanyata Farm puts it,“ The shorter days are a signal to their bodies that cold weather is coming and cold weather is not the time to be trying to rear young. So, they do not want to lay eggs because they don’ t want to be trying to have to keep baby chicks alive when it’ s cold out.”
Most laying hens perform best when they receive about
14 to 16 hours of light each day. During midsummer, natural daylight may provide nearly all of that requirement. By contrast, autumn days become progressively shorter, reducing the hormonal signals that support consistent laying. As a result, hens may lay fewer eggs, skip days between eggs or stop laying altogether.
This response is not a sign that something is wrong with the flock. Rather, it is a natural part of a laying hen’ s annual routine.
Molting: Trading Eggs for Feathers
For many backyard flocks, the arrival of autumn brings not only shorter days but also the annual molt. Molting is the natural process through which chickens shed old, worn feathers and replace them with a fresh set.
Feathers endure considerable wear in the course of a year. Exposure to sun, wind, rain, dust and daily activity gradually breaks them down. By late summer and early fall, many feathers have lost some of their insulating ability and protective qualities. The molt allows hens to replace these damaged feathers before colder weather arrives, helping them maintain body temperature and stay protected from the elements during winter.
Producing new feathers requires a tremendous amount of energy and protein. In fact, feathers are composed primarily of keratin, the same structural protein found in hair and fingernails. Because a hen has only so many nutritional resources available, her body must decide where to direct them. During the molt, those resources are shifted away from egg production and toward feather growth.
Seasonal Changes in Diet and Nutrition
Another factor that can contribute to reduced egg production in the fall is the seasonal change in a hen’ s
18 AcreageLife September 2026 AcreageLife. com