In this post we’ll focus on three critical levers you can control: ensuring a protein?rich diet to support laying, adjusting lighting and feeding schedules to mimic natural cycles, and maintaining eggshell strength with the right mineral support during co
Kathryn Thompson :: Friday 7th November 2025 :: Latest Blog Posts
Winter Feeding Tips for Laying Hens: Ensuring Optimal Egg Production
Winter brings a unique set of challenges for keeping laying hens productive. Shorter daylight, falling temperatures and shifts in feed availability all conspire to reduce egg output or weaken shell quality. In this post we'll focus on three critical levers you can control: ensuring a protein?rich diet to support laying, adjusting lighting and feeding schedules to mimic natural cycles, and maintaining eggshell strength with the right mineral support during cold months. With proactive management in these areas, you can help your flock stay healthy and keep laying reliably through winter.
Protein?Rich Diets for Optimal Egg Production
Protein is the building block of eggs - especially the albumen (egg white) and yolk tissues - and in winter, when hens burn extra energy to stay warm, their protein needs often increase. A diet deficient in protein can lead to decreased egg numbers, lighter eggs or even hens reabsorbing their own body reserves.
In practice, laying diets for healthy birds often target 16–18?% crude protein (or even slightly higher in cold stress), depending on breed and production level. Good protein sources include soybean meal, field peas, rapeseed meal, and high?quality animal proteins where permitted. You can also use well?balanced blended feeds or premium layer pellets that combine several protein ingredients in the correct ratio.
When boosting protein, you must balance the ration so you don't oversupply one amino acid or leave a deficit in another. For example, methionine and lysine are often the first limiting amino acids in poultry diets, so a feed formula should ensure these are present in adequate proportions. Too much raw protein without the right balance can lead to inefficiencies, wasted nitrogen and poor gut health.
Tips for integrating protein in winter:
- Use a complete layer feed as the base, rather than trying to layer on multiple supplements.
- Top?dress with extra protein concentrates, carefully - perhaps 5–10?% of the feed - rather than wholesale changes.
- Monitor body condition, egg size and shell quality; if hens lose weight or eggs shrink, your protein balance may need adjustment.
- Ensure sufficient energy is present (e.g. from cereals, fats) so the extra protein is used for production, not just maintenance.
By doing this, your hens can maintain strong laying performance even under the stress of winter.
Lighting and Feeding Schedules
One of the biggest influences on egg production in winter is reduced daylight hours. Hens' reproductive systems respond to light - less natural light can slow or stop laying. To counter this, many poultry keepers use supplemental lighting in the henhouse to extend "daylight" to around 14–16 hours in total.
Lighting strategies
- Use low?voltage, diffuse lighting (e.g. warm LED) rather than bright point sources; avoid glare and shadows that may stress birds.
- Schedule lights so that they come on before dawn or stay on into the evening, simulating a natural extended day.
- Gradually increase the lighting duration (e.g. add 30 minutes at a time) to avoid shocking the hens.
- Provide a blackout (dark) period at night - hens still need a rest period for physiological processes.
Feeding schedule alignment
With adjusted lighting, feeding should follow the hens' active period. Some suggestions:
- Feed in synchrony with light cycles: place feed just before the "daylight" begins so hens are ready to eat early, and again mid?day.
- Ensure ad libitum access during peak laying times - when egg formation is highest, birds require free access to food.
- Avoid giving large meals just before the dark period unless your calcium supplementation strategy supports nighttime shell formation (see next section).
- Split feeding might help - smaller feeds multiple times during the day ensures hens always have nutrients during key hours.
By matching feeding times to the artificially extended daylight period, you help hens maintain consistent laying rhythms, even when natural daylength is short.
Maintaining Eggshell Quality in Cold Weather
During winter, eggshell integrity can suffer if mineral supply is inadequate. The shell is made almost entirely of calcium carbonate (90–95?%) deposited on a protein matrix, so hens require 4–5 grams of calcium per day to form a good shell.
When feed ingredients like greens or insects are scarcer in cold months, hens may struggle to find supplemental calcium. To prevent shell thinning or breakage:
- Include finely ground and coarse calcium sources (e.g. limestone, oyster shell, or crushed eggshells) in the diet. Coarse particles help extend calcium release during shell formation, especially overnight.
- Feed extra calcium later in the day (afternoon/evening) so that during the night (when shells form most intensely), the gut still holds soluble calcium. If the feed's calcium is too fine, it may dissolve too early and be excreted before it's needed.
- Balance phosphorus and vitamin D?: excess phosphorus can interfere with calcium uptake, so keep the Ca:P ratio appropriate. Vitamin D? ensures better calcium absorption in the gut.
- Consider mineral premixes or supplements that provide trace minerals (manganese, zinc, magnesium) which support shell quality.
- Use coarser calcium particles (1.5–4?mm) rather than very fine powders - these linger longer in the digestive tract and release calcium steadily.
- Provide constant access to grit (insoluble particle grit) to help hens regulate and use minerals effectively.
With these adjustments, hens are much more likely to continue producing strong, saleable eggs even in the colder months.
Winter Readiness for Layers
In winter, your laying hens face a triple pressure: higher maintenance needs, fewer daylight hours, and less natural calcium sources. To keep egg output high and shells strong, three levers are critical:
- A protein?rich diet, carefully balanced to support egg formation without imbalance,
- Smart lighting and feeding schedules that mirror ideal daylight patterns to stabilise lay cycles, and
- Targeted calcium and mineral management in the feed to maintain shell quality during cold stress.
By proactively addressing these areas, you safeguard your flock against the seasonal slump many poultry keepers face. If you'd like help tailoring a winter feed blend or need more specific advice, contact B&W Feeds today. We offer support and feed options designed especially for laying hens in challenging conditions.