16 hours of light a day?

[Muddygurl]

Hello everyone! In my Purina pamphlet that came with my chics 16 weeks ago... it states I should provide light for the hens now. At least 16 hours a day for egg laying. Any advice? I just started them on egg laying feed.

 

[nuthatched]

You can provide 16 hours of light a day for laying through winter, but since it will be another 6 weeks ish before they reach laying age, there's a high possibility that they won't lay until end of winter/spring.
I wouldn't bother with the lights.

 

[Folly's place]

Your pullets are very young, and I agree, they may not start producing eggs until spring anyway.
They also shouldn't be eating a layer feed now! Continue with either a chick starter or an all flock feed, and add a separate dish of oyster shell for any who do start laying eggs.
Lighting won't do much, at least until February.
Mary

 

[Muddygurl]

Your pullets are very young, and I agree, they may not start producing eggs until spring anyway.
They also shouldn't be eating a layer feed now! Continue with either a chick starter or an all flock feed, and add a separate dish of oyster shell for any who do start laying eggs.
Lighting won't do much, at least until February.
Mary

Thank you. But why does the Purina week-by-week tell me to start preparing for the eggs? And to change feed?

 

[NatJ]

But why does the Purina week-by-week tell me to start preparing for the eggs? And to change feed?

Do you have a picture of the pamphlet?
Or just tell the title, and I can look for it online?

Commercial egg producers certainly do adjust the lighting as the pullets grow, to cause egg laying to start at a specific time. Purina's pamphlet may be based on commercial egg production, which uses only certain breeds, and which does not always transfer correctly to backyard chickens.

A pullet might lay her first egg anywhere from 16-18 weeks (about 4 months) up to 8+ months old. It depends on the breed of chicken, the season of the year, the hours of light each day, and a bunch of other factors.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I also would like to read that pamphlet so I could read it in context. I've done some searching online and suspect @NatJ hit it. Purina is using information for raising commercial layers for our backyard flocks and that is just not right for many different reasons. What kind of chicks did you get and where did you get them from? Perhaps Purina has reason to believe you are a commercial operation. Or maybe the person that sent the pamphlet didn't know any better.

What I think is going on is that Purina is going by studies carried out by commercial operations, often at university poultry science departments, about how to feed a commercial laying flock. You and I are not going to come up with the big bucks it takes to do those studies so they are going to be about the commercial flocks, not backyard flocks. We generally don't raise the same breeds, don't house them the same, don't feed them the same, and don't do a lot of the things the same. I read those studies and learn a lot from them, but I try to understand why that stuff might or might not apply to me.

I don't like to blindly give out suggestions. It's possible you have those commercial chicks and that may be reasonable for you. The more you can tell us about what you have, how you are managing them, even a rough idea of your location the more realistic I think I can help. But for the vast majority of people on this forum I would not be feeding Layer or extend the lights.

 

[Muddygurl]

Do you have a picture of the pamphlet?
Or just tell the title, and I can look for it online?

Commercial egg producers certainly do adjust the lighting as the pullets grow, to cause egg laying to start at a specific time. Purina's pamphlet may be based on commercial egg production, which uses only certain breeds, and which does not always transfer correctly to backyard chickens.

A pullet might lay her first egg anywhere from 16-18 weeks (about 4 months) up to 8+ months old. It depends on the breed of chicken, the season of the year, the hours of light each day, and a bunch of other factors.

Yes please see the pics

 

[Muddygurl]

Yes please see the pics

August 12 2020 they were born. I have them for residential use, eggs.

 

[tripletfeb]

I know exactly the pamphlet you are referring to. I got the same one when I started with chicks years ago. It's a good base to go on but not very specific to the breed of chicken you may have. I also think it was written for chicks people get in the spring, not summer or fall. Look up how to tell if your pullets are ready to lay. Lots of good info on this site!

 

[Muddygurl]

We have Rhode Island Reds, Rhode Island Whites, Cuckoo Morans and ordered them online at Cackle Hatchery. We live in central florida by the coast