Supplemental lighting for youngsters (please if you don't agree don't comment)

[childrenschicks]

I plan to supplement with lighting in winter only as I am a Michigander and winters can be harsh! (Please no rude comments--my chickens, my decisions so please don't talk me out of it), but I do have a question as my chicks are a week old and that means November-ish is when they would start laying, now I'm not sure if they will lay (anyone with previous experience on that age and stage?), but I also don't want to supplement lighting too young if this is going to happen before I even start to get eggs! What age did you start to add light and opinion on waiting after this winter? Oh and this is the paragraph from the chicken chick blog thing that I was reading. THANKS IN ADVANCE!

No Supplemental Light for Youngsters:
Providing supplemental lighting when natural daylight hours decrease to 13 hours or less is a safe and common practice undertaken to keep hens producing eggs in the autumn and winter months. However, adolescent chickens should not be exposed to supplemental lighting as it can cause them to reach sexual maturity too soon, resulting in egg-laying before their bodies are properly equipped. Egg-binding and prolapsed uterus are two of the possible consequences of premature egg-laying.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree with that blog. You don’t want them laying too early. You’ll be better off in the long run if you don’t get too impatient. You’ll get bigger eggs too if they delay start of lay a bit.

You don’t mention breeds, but most dual purpose chickens from hatcheries are going to be mature enough to handle laying by around 23 weeks. Late maturing breeds like Brahmas might need a little longer. So pick an age you want them to start laying and increase the length of light by about 15 to 20 minutes each day. Technically the trigger is not longer days, it’s shorter nights, but the results are the same. It may take them a while to make the adjustment to their internal egg making factory but they will start making changes to their body and soon start laying.

Another trick is to manipulate the feed. Put them on a 15% protein ration from about 13 weeks until you are about ready for them to lay. When you start increasing the lights, increase the protein to 16% or 17%. That kick in protein can also help get them started to lay.

 

[3riverschick]

Great advice Ridgerunner! I don't encourage my Sussex at all. I let nature take its course. Just feel it's more natural that way. I am in western PA in planting Zone 5b, tho last winter we got down to Zone 4 with the Polar Vortexes. I have nice coops. I keep my birds under lights 24/7 all winter to prevent their combs from freezing. Unfortunately even extra deep litter and lights wasn't enough when the polar vortexes hit and it took till May for the cocks combs to heal. My birds laid with lights 24/7. I figure if they are bred to lay they will. If they aren't bred to lay, who wants to spend their life monkeying around with lighting scenarios? It cost me about 200. to keep 3 of the 60 watt bulbs on from Nov. thru March. I had Marans one time that were laying machines! Whew! They laid right thru blizzards when I had to dig out the coop to collect the eggs!
Best,
Karen

 

[donrae]

I won't comment on the heat/lighting part, but I will say I had pullets hatched last June that started laying on their own in late December, one actually laid her first egg on the winter solstice

. I know lighting can affect laying, but I do agree production bred birds are pretty driven to lay regardless. It might make a difference if you're talking hatchery birds or good, true heritage breeder birds that aren't going to mature as fast. Laying too early would be bad, imo, it's better to wait a few extra weeks to allow things to mature.

 

[CollegeChicken]

the poster seems very defensive as if he anticipated being attacked for his ideas on supplemental lighting...I had no idea there was such a debate about it..are there any cons? I would definitely try it if it causes no harm to the birds...who wouldnt want more eggs if it doesnt hurt the health of your flock? Can someone enlighten me?>

 

[donrae]

Oh, you'll find lots of issues here folks get very passionate about! Lighting/heating, vaccinations, worming, free ranging, what to feed, culling ill animals, the list could go on and on

A lot of us do think it can be detrimental to a flock. I don't use supplemental lighting because it's my belief the hen needs a break from laying. I believe they were designed to lay for a period of time, perhaps brood a clutch or two, then molt, take a break to regain anything lost from prolonged production/brooding/molting, then resume laying again in the spring. Some folks think using lighting in the winter will cause a hen to burn out of laying sooner, and there may be something to that.

Adding heat is another issue. Most of use who don't want to heat birds in the winter do so because we believe the birds are just fine no matter the temperature. Heat lamps in coops are a good source of fire, never a good thing. We also believe birds that have been acclimated to a heat lamp will suffer should the power go out and they're not adapted to the climate without it.


childrenschicks, please don't be upset about my post. I'm not trying to talk you out of managing your flock, I'm simply trying to answer CollegeChicken's valid question. I'd encourage CollegeChicken to maybe start a new thread, or look into old posts about heating/lighting, instead of pursuing things further here out of respect for your feelings.

 

[childrenschicks]

Thank you donrae. I try at all cost to avoid drama and I see it on here ALL the time and in the end the questions never get answered so this time I prepared the thread as much as I could to get my question answered. I defiantly like to see both sides to each topic and that's why I have previously researched this topic, but I couldn't find my answer and really didn't want the drama. So now I have a question of clarification:
- I have brahmas, orphingtons and australorps (all within a day of eachother) and from Meyer hatchery
- most winter days (starting noticeably in nov) it starts to get dark around 5:30/6:00
So..... Would you not supplement this year seeing they won't be ready to lay til maybe even December if it does happen? Just start one night by turning on the lights even though I'm already beyond that 14 hour mark?

 

[donrae]

I personally would not, no. As I stated above, my summer hatched birds (barnyard mix of various hatchery breeds) started laying without any light. I really didn't expect them to, I didn't expect eggs until more like late Feb or March at the earliest, but there I was in December

. But, this is not a thread about how I manage my birds, it's your thread.

How old are your birds now? I'm guessing still pretty young? just trying to get an idea of the timeline involved.

I think Ridgerunner gave you excellent advice, as always. I'm just not sure how you'd manage a faster maturing, more production bred bird like an Australorp, along with a slower maturing Brahma. I wouldn't think you could "force" the Brahma to start laying too soon, as their bodies just don't develop as fast. I'd do as Ridgerunner said, pick a target date of when they (the Aussies and Orps) should mature, and work backward from there, gradually increasing light each night. Folks that have posted about trying to do sudden, big changes in the amount of light don't seem to have good results, you'd want a gradual, smooth lengthening of light .

 

[Ridgerunner]

Don’t get hung up on that 14 hour thing, especially where you live. This year it won’t matter, but in following years the 14 hours might cause you problems. It’s not length of day that causes the hens to molt and stop laying or start laying in the spring. It’s the days getting longer or shorter. As far north as you are, the longest day of the year is probably more than 15 hours long. By the time the length of day gets down to 14 hours, they may have already kicked into molt stage. I remember a lady in Pennsylvania having that problem.

Also, if you do supplement light this winter, don’t shut it off too quickly in the spring. If you add light to make the day longer and try to kick start them into laying, don’t shut it off until the length of daylight is equal to however much light you are adding. Otherwise you may start a molt next spring when you stop supplementing the lights.

 

[aoxa]

I lit my birds starting in February (for breeding) and upped the time each day. We didn't do 14 hours though, as I don't have the kind of lights that go on timer. I have to physically go out and shut them off.. in a snow storm, that is not much fun, especially late at night when I'd much rather be in bed.

You do not need to light for their first winter. They will lay right through it if they are winter layers. You mentioned Brahmas, Orps and Australorps. All are winter layers from what I've heard. You may just want to skip the first year adding additional light. Or if you still want to (no judging!) add it to the morning VS the evening. You will have confused birds off roosts if in the evening.

Do it slowly if you can.

Oh and as for it making them reach sexual maturity early... Well I hatched last fall and some didn't start laying despite the added light, so not sure that is true. I have accidentally left the light on all night and confused the heck out of their system, and would not recommend that!