A quick question, please

[LarrySC]

Last winter, our chickens never slacked off with the eggs laying;; This is their second winter, and they are molting, for a couple of months, plus the shorter hours;; I was reluctant to add artificial lighting, but I did it last night for the first time;; Now, my question;; how long will it be before they get back to normal laying ? Maybe they will not;; If it's not gonna help; I don't want to keep the light burning, I added about 4 hours of light. Thanks; Larry in SC

 

[T-Amy]

How long ago did you put the lighting in?

We put 60 watt equivalent CFL on a timer (just 1 light) to go on from 4-9AM only so they total 14* light a day with natural sunlight. We were getting 2-3 eggs a day at best from 20 hens. Within 1 week we saw an increase of a couple of eggs a day. Now we get 7-9 eggs a day. I'm going to add another CFL in h the other socket & see if this entices the others to lay. Since it takes 25-26* for an egg to develop & be laid, I think we're doing pretty well with 20 chickens, several of which are molting- well, they were, they seem to be almost done with that.
Keep me posted how you do, OK?
Oh, we also added a very low LED nightlight in the coop that is usually on just to keep them from 100% pitch blackness (so as not to interfere with sleep).
We also don't have the lights come on in the afternoon so they roost naturally when the daylight goes down.
~Amy

 

[LarrySC]

Amy;; Last night was the first time ;; just put the light in the coup last night;; Thanks for the reply;; I had no idea if it would be a couple of days before there was a difference, or if it would take a long time.. I set mine to come on around 6 pm, and go off at 10 pm;; Wonder which is better; in the evening, or in the morning.. I figured the evening, since it used to not get dark here in SC to 9 pm. If it's only gonna make a small difference; I think I will let them have the rest.

 

[florida lee]

I think it would be best to have the light on in the morning hours, that way it would not go out and leave them in the dark, off the roost. Since they do not see well after dark. My light is set to come on about 4am and then goes off about 0730.

 

[LarrySC]

all our hens are in the coop already, the light does not go out for for three more hours;; They are sitting just like they do when it's dark.

 

[GrannysRoost]

Quote:
The shortest day of the year is coming up in Dec, so you gave them a 1-month jump, so probably Feb-Mar depending on where you are to keep the laying up if it is working ( I have not done). Since coming up on Dec, maybe you need to add an hour then and start reducing light time as days get longer (Feb)

 

[T-Amy]

Hey Larry,
Check this article out- it says light should be added in the morning - and it says it can take up to 3 weeks for the light to affect the egg laying (and it explains why which is cool)

http://www.backyardpoultrymag.com/issues/5/5-2/how_to_get_more_eggs.html

but you bring up an interesting point- what time does it get dark there? It gets dark here at 5PM or before now so if I added light at the end of the day and if they weren't yet on their roost, they'd be in pitch black when the light goes out- so they couldn't find the roost. Basically, it encourages them to 'ease' into darkness if you will.

I like backyardpoultry's site because you can look up articles in past magazines online-

 

[DanEP]

Yep morning lite works better. I have mine on a timer that gets them up at 4:30 and goes off at 7 then comes back on at 4pm till 5 mostly so i can see to gather eggs and do my chores but still go off before it's completly dark so they can find the roost. Just remember that if it's their second year their not going to lay like they did their pullet year. I give them 12 hours of lite thru the winter to help them out a little but I don't go for the 14-15 hours that some use and still get 50-60% laying everyday.

 

[LarrySC]

thanks everyone for the replies; Amy; I read your link;; I think I will just let nature take it's course; I will take the light out tomorrow, don't want to wait several weeks to see any increase in egg production; We still get more than we can eat now; We will let the hens get some rest from laying.

 

[T-Amy]

OK Larry- I'm sure the ladies will appreciate it!

can you sell some of the eggs to offset the feed costs? I've seen some folks charge as much as $4-5 a dozen!

I'll take all the eggs I can get. My dogs even get an occasional egg or two. And the chickens actually like them, too. Although that's only if an egg breaks in the coop, they gobble it right up (Obviously I don't encourage that, though).
Take care Larry!