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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/chick-dark-months

When do backyard hens usually lay fewer eggs, or stop for a while?

In the darker months of fall and winter.

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  1. In the longest days of summer
  2. Right after a rainstorm
  3. In the darker months of fall and winter ✔

Why: NC State Extension says laying slows or even stops in the darker months. Backyard hens are usually allowed to rest, and laying begins again when days get longer in spring.

Huh, didn't know that: Mississippi State says hens may still lay less in colder months, even with extra light.

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What is a chicken's favorite season? Spring, because that is when the eggs come back.
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References

Answer: In the darker months of fall and winter. NC State Extension says laying slows or even stops in the darker months. Backyard hens are usually allowed to rest, and laying begins again when days get longer in spring.

  1. NC State Extension: Keeping Garden Chickens in North Carolina content.ces.ncsu.edu/keeping-garden-chickens-in-north-carolina
    egg laying will slow or even stop during the darker months of the year.
    Checked 2026-10-11.
  2. NC State Extension: Keeping Garden Chickens in North Carolina content.ces.ncsu.edu/keeping-garden-chickens-in-north-carolina
    egg production will begin again when the days lengthen in the spring.
    Checked 2026-10-11.
  3. Mississippi State Extension: Homesteading, Backyard Chickens extension.msstate.edu/blogs/extension-for-real-life/homesteading-backyard-chickens
    even with supplementation, hens may still experience a natural decrease in laying during the colder months.
    Checked 2026-10-11.

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