How to Give Eggs for Christmas When the Hens Aren't Laying!

[baymule]

We live on a tiny lot in town. We also own 16 acres just outside of town where we keep the horses. Next to out land are wonderful neighbors who will retire there in a few years. We always help each other back and forth. Last New Years Day, my neighbor lady, Virgie, went into the hospital for 41 days. They live 2 hours away. Virgie and her daughter stay up here a lot of the time while Roger comes on weekends. But with Virgie in the hospital, near death, coming up here to care for their two horses was not first on their minds. So every day, after work and after I cared for mine, I went next door and fed theirs. I also looked around to make sure nothing was amiss and then sent a text to let them know everything was ok. Likewise, when we leave town for more than a couple of days, they take care of our horses. We are blessed to have good neighbors!

We always exchange some kind of gifts at Christmas. I like to share eggs with them and they love getting them. But the hens have molted, it's short days and no eggs. I baked fruit cakes and made one for them. I got a Family Grain Mill last Friday and ground grain yesterday and made bread and set aside a loaf for them. I picked collard greens for Virgie as she loves them. But no eggs. My diabolical mind set to work...........! I filled an egg carton with broken halves of eggshells. I made a Christmas card from the hens which read on the front: Merry Christmas! BA-GAWK and drew chicken tracks on the front. Inside I wrote: The egg factory has been SHUT DOWN until further notice. I.O.U. Bok-Bok-Bok They looked at the empty broken egg shells, read the card and rolled, laughing.

So that is how to give eggs when you have none!

 

[journey11]

Too funny, Baymule!

I have a wonderful neighbor like that. She looks out for everybody up here really and is a good example of how "neighborly" should be done. We try to look out for her too and we're always exchanging garden goodies. Thank God for good neighbors!

 

[catjac1975]

Funny, funny, funny. Put a light bulb into the henhouse. I add light to equal 17 hours of light . I have a switch that goes on at dusk and off 8 hours later. It has worked for me. It took a week or so for the hens to lay.

 

[Southern Gardener]

Very cute! It's good to have great neighbors.

 

[baymule]

Funny, funny, funny. Put a light bulb into the henhouse. I add light to equal 17 hours of light . I have a switch that goes on at dusk and off 8 hours later. It has worked for me. It took a week or so for the hens to lay.

I ran an outdoor extension cord from the porch light socket to the coop. Ran the cord under the roof and secured the plug. Plugged in a 3-outlet (for future ideas) and plugged in a timer, plugged an auto light with the aluminum reflector and clamped it to a 2x4 rafter. I did this 3 days ago. I can't wait for eggs!!

 

[so lucky]

The thing is, if I put light in the chicken house, and it comes on at 4:00AM, they will think they need food and water and OUT of the house. I don't normally let them out till around 7:00AM. If I have it come on at 4:00PM they won't go to sleep, just be in the house raising Cain. I would happily run a cord out there, but I can't figure out when it would be most helpful. Do yours go to sleep even if it is light in there? And does just sleeping in more light help them lay again, or do they need to be awake and moving around?

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i have my timer set to turn on for 4-4:30pm and goes off sometime around 8:30pm. as long as they are getting 14 hours of light each day they seem to be fine. its when they're in molt that the egg laying is an issue. my girls have been picking up the slack the past 2 weeks since i got their lights going. btw, i use christmas lights in my coop instead and they get used to the time it goes off after a few days of use and learn to put them selves up before it goes out for the night.

i love that idea of the broken shells in the carton!

 

[so lucky]

i have my timer set to turn on for 4-4:30pm and goes off sometime around 8:30pm. as long as they are getting 14 hours of light each day they seem to be fine. its when they're in molt that the egg laying is an issue. my girls have been picking up the slack the past 2 weeks since i got their lights going. btw, i use christmas lights in my coop instead and they get used to the time it goes off after a few days of use and learn to put them selves up before it goes out for the night.

i love that idea of the broken shells in the carton!

So are they up and moving around that extra time? Eating and so on? Do you use the Christmas lights for a "night light" in addition to a stronger light that goes off a bit earlier, or are the Christmas lights the only extra light source?

 

[baymule]

I didn't put a light on them when they were molting. I thought they deserved the rest and needed to use their proteins for feathers. Now that they are all feathered out, it is egg time! I have never used a light before, but I have gone 3 months with no eggs too! I have the light come on at 4:00 am and go off at 7:00am. I am not awake when the light comes on, but DH wakes up around that time, rumbles around a bit and goes back to sleep for awhile. He looks out at the girls and they are ok, they stay in the coop and don't go out to the dark run!

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i have my timer set to turn on for 4-4:30pm and goes off sometime around 8:30pm. as long as they are getting 14 hours of light each day they seem to be fine. its when they're in molt that the egg laying is an issue. my girls have been picking up the slack the past 2 weeks since i got their lights going. btw, i use christmas lights in my coop instead and they get used to the time it goes off after a few days of use and learn to put them selves up before it goes out for the night.

i love that idea of the broken shells in the carton!

So are they up and moving around that extra time? Eating and so on? Do you use the Christmas lights for a "night light" in addition to a stronger light that goes off a bit earlier, or are the Christmas lights the only extra light source?

they are up and moving while the light is on. they have a big 8'x16' coop and most are bantams so they have quite a bit of inside room to roam. i just use the christmas lights with nothing extra. though i do recommend getting the 'warm' lights and not the 'cool' ones that tend to be almost a bluish color. the 'cool' will still work if that is all you can find.