Decreased Egg Production Even WITH Supplemental Lighting??

[Happy Chooks]

You might as well add me to the mix. Our Hens isn't laying either. The last egg we got was on November 30th, it's been 8 days now and yes they are molting right now but they have been laying. We started turning the indoor light on in their palace (coop) from 4-7 in the afternoon to evening hours. So, far it has not helped. For the last two days they have been staying in the palace because of high winds. We are in the PNW. We have only 7 Hens and we have been getting one or two a day now it's zero in 8 days. Last few days it's been 60 degrees. Not sure what the problem is either. Have to wait until spring to see if they lay if they don't start laying again. We have rainy and cloudy days here so it is dark in the palace during the day. Four of them just came out even though it is windy!

They will start laying again, after they are finished molting and get their body weight back up. Feathers are almost completely protein, so they need all of their protein stores to grow them in. They can lose a lot of weight while molting, so after the feathers are in, they have to get their weight up to a safe level before they can resume laying.

Quote: Yep, once the days start getting longer again, production will slowly increase. I have 3 hens that have already started back up, giving me an egg every 2-3 days. December 22nd is the winter solstice.

 

[WVDoug]

My coop and barn are on solar power (12V). I was using two 2W LED lights, but they were not very bright and very cool white. It is recommended that supplemental lighting be more towards the "soft" (yellow) lighting. I removed the 4 watts of cool white LEDs and added one of these 7.5 watt units (about equal to 50W of incandescent lighting):

http://www.lowes.com/pd_745384-7577...46&Ns=p_product_price|0&pl=1&Ntt=7.5+watt+led

Within a couple of days the egg production increased noticeably.
My light comes on at 2:25 AM and off at 7:40AM. Sunset is about 4:55PM this time if year, and just starting to get later. Sunrise is 7:35 and will continue to get slightly later until it is at 7:43 the first full week of January.

 

[CrazyTalk]

The much faster flicker rates on the newer ballasts supposedly do not bother birds like the older ballasts with slower flicker rates.

Older magnetic ballasts typically flicker at 100-120 hz (twice the supplying current's cycling rate) - our threshold is typically around 60hz, but high contrast changes that (and is part of why you can see flicker as fluorescents are warming up). Most birds have a threshold around 100hz, so magnetics might bother them. Anything with a higher proportion of rods in their eyes is going to have a higher threshold than us (like dogs).

Modern electronic ballasts cycle at 20Khz - and the phosphors are lit for longer than a cycle, so there is no flicker (they're being excited again before they go dark).




Something else to consider is that birds use way more energy in the winter to stay warm - their nutritional needs are much higher, so if you haven't increased your feed rates, that may be part of the problem.

 

[bruceha2000]

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" .

I got 12 girls (my first) in June 2012, ALL laid through their first winter without supplemental light and I think that is normal. I imagine if you get them early in the year they might moult before winter and sort of become "second winter" birds before they are a year old, moult in the fall and might miss the "first winter they lay well" period.

The next winter all but 5 shut down (1 of those shut down when she moulted for the first time at the end of January), no supplemental light. Most of those took a few weeks off in January except the Partridge Chantecler that laid straight through until she went broody (a bad habit) at the end of May. Pretty much everyone started back up mid to late February.

Last winter all but the Partridge Chantecler shut down by the end of October, no supplemental light. She was laying until mid December then shut down until early March. The "late moulter" from the prior year moulted starting the end of August and started back up in early January. Pretty much everyone started back up mid to late February.

This year I added 7 pullets (hatched June 8th) and light starting in September so they always have light at least 12 hours a day thinking that might keep the older girls laying a bit longer in the fall. Didn't do a thing for the older birds and the younger ones don't need it but I don't want to mess with them now. 1 EE has been laying since Nov 18th and either 1 or both (I don't know!!) of the White Rocks started soon after. Another EE started yesterday which leaves 1 EE, both Jersey Giants and maybe a White Rock (or not) to get with the "pullets lay well their first winter" program.

We do much the same except I sell my girls when they are around 18 months old, before winter. I still get $15.-$20. for each bird with full disclosure they will likely go into molt and be unproductive for 6-8 weeks,.. I give discounts for purchases of 3+ birds and sold 44 between Sept 1 and Oct. 1

I usually keep a few of my best producer or broodys and go into the winter with new layers. A few years ago I had 30+ birds and was only getting 3-4 eggs a day and some days not even that. we had to buy store eggs which just about killed us. It was then I reassessed what I wanted from my flock and now hatch in spring and summer, sell a lot of those pullets and established layers in late summer early fall and haven't had any more issues.... Gathered 34 eggs yesterday so pretty darn happy with it all

People are paying $15 - $20 for a bird that likely won't lay until February and is already on the downside of productivity? Wow.

We reduced our flock when a few died from old age, but the remaining girls were laying well. We even had one of the older easter eggers start producing after the new ones started to lay. Now we have had zero eggs in 2 months.
The one reason I can see is that they did not molt at the same time. Only one started to molt, which I assume stressed the rest of them and then two weeks later, another started to molt, and then again 2 weeks later. So the molt season has been going on forever, and no eggs!

I have more chicks coming in April, and that is too long to wait for more eggs.

Not sure the fix either. I will try the lights, again to see if that might help. The early morning timer setting might work. I'll get back to ya if something changes, like I get an egg!

Mine have always (keeping in mind that "always" is a flock that started at 12 in June of 2012) moulted at different times. And not even the same time each year as they did the prior year. For instance Echo had her first moult the end of January 2014, moulted again starting mid October 2014 and mid November this year. She is now mid moult. She and the EE that is 1.5 months into her moult (finally starting to look like a chicken again) are my best layers by far. I don't think 1 moulting affects the others.

I don't think you have to wait for spring for eggs (and the April chicks won't give you any then anyway

), I think the older ones will start up mid to late February. Doesn't help with the holiday baking though does it?!!?

Clearly attempting to short circuit the egg slowdown with natural light decreasing in the fall by keeping constant light (12 hours per day) didn't do anything for my older birds. If mine have been starting up in mid February due to increasing light (even though it is still well less than 12 hours per day) I wonder if one could "encourage" their birds to start back up earlier by not lighting in the fall but adding light starting about now. Get back to us on that will you?

The much faster flicker rates on the newer ballasts supposedly do not bother birds like the older ballasts with slower flicker rates.

I won't buy CFLs anymore, not with LEDs available. And I hate yellow light, I won't buy anything less than 3,000 Kelvin. For outside I want 5,000, it pretty much matches the color of the full moon on a clear night. I have no idea how the light "temperature" affects the birds though.

I'm having the same problem. I have 45 hens and I'm getting between 24 and 26 eggs a day. I have a florescent light fixture with daylight bulbs that comes on at 6 am and goes off at 8 pm. Last winter this time with only 24 hens I was getting 14-16 eggs a day. I changed to florescent because the bulbs last so much longer and it's really hot here in the summer and they burn cool.

If they were pullets last winter and are the same birds this winter, it is not at all surprising that they slowed down. LEDs last way longer than CFLs, use even less electricity and don't have that nasty habit of "warming up" from little light to full over a period of several minutes when it is cold. That isn't necessarily a bad thing though for the chickens' artificial sunrise. But I really don't like them for MY use. Sometimes 5 minutes is all I need but I can't see because all I have is a dim pink light for much of it.

 

[pfields]

The florescent light fixture I put in their coop is brand new, it's one of those shop lights that you can hang from chains. They are outside all day unless laying an egg in the coop. They're usually in the coop between 5:30 and 6:00 pm depending on how dark it is. Here on the coast our temps haven't been that low, today it's 73 outside but will get down in the high 50's tonight. Usually January and February are our coldest months.

Changing subject but Sunday I saw a huge owl in our neighbors field and last night he decided to try and get into our run which is covered with netting. My chickens have been on high alert all day.

Since noon today we've been able to see him in a tree about 200 yards away.

 

[gootziecat]

I am experiencing a dramatic drop in eggs as well. All mine are pullets and those that mother nature said to lay, did start. Then suddenly the eggs dried up. I am getting ONE egg from 6 or more pullets that were laying. That includes EEs and Australorp. One Welsummer's comb looks very red but she hasn't laid that I'm aware of. The only one laying is a California White pullet that is currently laying a 2 1/4 oz egg daily. There is a 40W bulb that is on 13-14 hrs a day, starting about 4 and stays on until roughly 8:30pm. I have had this wattage bulb before that keep my girls laying all winter long (not same chickens however). But I will change the bulb and up the time a little and see what happens. Any that don't lay after that, that should be laying, will be culled. Interesting so many people are having the same problem.

 

[aart]

Quote: Kevin corresponds to the 'color' of the light....I've read that redder light is supposed to stimulate the reproduction in chickens.

 

[slordaz]

I think it depends on several things, Ours are still laying and we are well into winter without supplemental lighting, while most in the areas stopped about a month ago.

Ours are still out free ranging even in the cold and snow, they are feed their regular ration of a small amount of layer feed along with their fermented feed, only change we did was put the nesting box between bales of hay so it stays a little warmer and the cornish x and the brown leghorn that had a leg injured opted for a little cave in between the hay bales. The farm cat takes care of any mice that might attract.

My biggest concern is when I go out and there's 3 nesting boxes and 9 hens and there's 3 trying to lay in one box ,I'm like girls stop trying to squash the poor white leghorn.

9 hens and we are getting 7-9 eggs a day still

 

[MaineNative]

When we moved from Central Maine to Northern Aroostook I only brought 10 of my 72 hens will me. Last winter I added light as I have done in the past and got on average 8 eggs a day. As I have added new members over the summer (mostly Meyers production reds which look just like Comets, but with a very tender spirit), production went up and down due to what I believe was stress issues. Now that I have 60+ I changed my lighting pattern to what I've been locally told works best for hens in the colder and reduced light environment. NOT best for my girls. Production dipped to 48% and all 8 of my year old Araucana completely stopped. I now have returned to my former pattern of having a 40 watt CFL come on at 4 am off at 9am, on at 3 pm and off at 9 pm. This is giving them more then the 14 hours but the mornings where my coups are don't get full light until mid morning and we have many mixed cloudy days due to being in the Katahdin Valley (the mountain is always working on the next snow event...). Not sure if this will work in your area but it is worth a try. Best of luck to you and your girls! Pam

 

[lbunkie]

I'm at a loss with these eggs as well. We have less eggs. I keep heat lamp on at night(Red) but we haven't started our clear white yet.
My problem along with less eggs are, they won't lay in their boxes.
We fenced off under the coop, locked them in for about 2 weeks, put golf balls in, I clean the boxes out, put hay in them- useless, and I renctly found 2 eggs in the coop and 1/2 dozen in the pullet run, we have used since April.
Uggg. I'm lost. We have 3 older hens and 5 young(March) we have 2 ducks, that won't sleep anywhere else but with the flock.
I give them leftovers, 1x a week, without the ducks.