Decreased Egg Production Even WITH Supplemental Lighting??

[Bridebeliever]

 Normal daylight in the Pacific Northwest is a pipe dream

True statement! My coop is so dark even in the middle of the day!

 

[AmericanMom]

True statement! My coop is so dark even in the middle of the day!

I worried about giving them too much light but when I go to turn out the light at 9am and the coop is thrown into darkness, so much so that I cant see into the nest well enough to clean them out or gather eggs I realized it wasn't hurting them, besides.. Folks in Alaska who get a several months of 24 hour sun don't seem to have issues lol..

 

[aart]

Quote: I keep a light on most the day too because of low light in the coop,
but they do get a dark period at night from 5pm to 3am.

When do your bird sleep?

24 hour sun in AK is during the summer.

 

[AmericanMom]

I keep a light on most the day too because of low light in the coop,
but they do get a dark period at night from 5pm to 3am.

When do your bird sleep?

24 hour sun in AK is during the summer.

They sleep at night... I have been out to the coop after 10pm and all is quiet and there asleep (until of course I walk in) The flock will sleep and rest with or without the light, they go to roost by 5-6pm and generally don't budge until 5-6 am

And I realize 24 hour sun in Alaska is during the summer months

 

[The Chicken Fan]

I have a light in my coop, and I am getting 5-7 eggs a day out of 9 chickens. One of my barred rocks stopped laying for 3 weeks, and just started laying again. I asked a lady who has over a 150 chickens and she said it's normal for egg production to decrease if not stop in winter.

 

[aart]

They sleep at night... I have been out to the coop after 10pm and all is quiet and there asleep (until of course I walk in) The flock will sleep and rest with or without the light, they go to roost by 5-6pm and generally don't budge until 5-6 am

Will you leave the light like that all year?
Would be curious to know what the lay pattern is like come spring/summer.

 

[AmericanMom]

Will you leave the light like that all year?
Would be curious to know what the lay pattern is like come spring/summer.

No, actually I will start turning it on an hour later starting the end of this month ( Winter solstice) so by early March late February I wont be using the light at all. It is typically only from the end of Oct - the End of Dec that they really need the extra lighting, that plus the fact 90% of my flock is new layers the light was only meant to get them thru the worst of the "hump" .

 

[centrarchid]

If temperatures birds are exposed drop too much egg production will decline as well despite the lighting regime.

 

[DigMyChicks]

My egg production is down also. I do not supplement their light except for a couple hours in the morning. Out of the last 4 days I've gotten 3 days of 5 eggs and 1 day of 8 eggs. I have 17 hens. I'm thinking some are moulting as there are lots of feathers in the coop. At least 5 EE's are not laying at all and I have 7 of them. My girls were born in March and April.

 

[bbkaren]

We keep supplemental lighting on 24/7. I have read it's supposed to cause stress to them and decrease their lifespan, but our chickens aren't long-lived pets anyway. They're put in the pot after 2-3 years. It's worked well for us for several years now.

That said, I've noticed a decrease as well this season and am wondering if the new bulb I put in there (13W curlicue) might not have the spectrum they need. I'm going to try a different bulb to see if there's an improvement.