We have kept chickens for years. Mostly for the eggs but I must admit we just like having them around. Chickens are programmed to lay eggs in the summer and stop in the winter. They will lay in the summer for a number of years if kept healthy. The control for this is length of the day. If you want eggs year-round, you just need to use a little trickery. Just control the light in their environment to maintain a ‘day’ of 12-14 hours. This is easily done with a light and timer. Keep the daylight to 12-14 hours with the light and they think it’s still summer. Simple right?