Artificial Light

[bannerdb]

Hey guys, just looking for some opinions on this on. My ISA's have recently stopped laying. I thought they were getting enough light each day, but I crunched some numbers last night, and for the last two weeks or so they have only been getting an average of 10.5 to 11 hours per day as Autumn sets in. They stopped laying 5 days ago .

I have just added an artificial light in the coop yesterday evening. It is being left on all the time as I couldnt source a timer yesterday. Assuming that lack sufficient daylight was indeed the problem, when would you think I would start seeing eggs again? I should add, there were no eggs today!

 

[dbounds10]

well - mine went from 4 eggs a day down to 1-2 so I am going through the same issue. I have a timer that I order and should be here tomorrow so I will be having my light come on at 5-ishAM and go off once the sun is fully up. I hope this helps out.

You say you left your light on "all the time" does that mean at night also? They need 8 full hours of darkness to sleep and recharge.

12-14 hours of light to keep laying.

 

[bannerdb]

I left it on all night, as I was viewing some other posts that said it was okay to leave it on all night if I hadn't got a timer.

Any idea how long it should take them to start laying again once I have supplied artificial light since last night?

 

[bannerdb]

Anyone?

 

[Fred's Hens]

OK, first, do not have the light on 24/7, as chickens, just like you or me, need their sleep and their rest. A perfectly good timer is available at Wally World for under $8.

Second, for the laying to drop to zero, I'd suspect some other issues as well. How old are the hens? Are they free of infection, worms, lice, etc? Since the days have shortened, many birds are moulting right now. But an ISA, a true ISA rarely just stops. Thanks for providing a bit more info.