In winter, we supplement natural light with the light from heat lamps. The age of a chicken also is important. For example, a young hen who is just beginning to lay usually lays very small and sometimes oddly-shaped eggs. As the hen matures, her eggs often increase in size and become more regular in shape. Chickens will lay for up to 14 months, and then go through a period of molt, where they replace their feathers with new feathers.
Chickens can molt for as long as a couple months.
Stress or rapid changes in the length of light exposure can also cause a hen to molt. They resume laying again after the molt, until the next period of molt. The number of eggs they lay is greatest during the first period of laying and gradually decreases in subsequent periods. Laying record for December. Chickens and ducks also help to control the local tick and population in the summer.