Do I need light in coop with less daylight

[Marcymom3]

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Great publication! Lots of good info. Thanks!

 

[babyrnlc]

We did not add a light and all last winter got 6-7 eggs/week/chicken, even through a blizzard. I had to go pick up frozen eggs!

I figure if the girls need to slow up for the winter, they should get to. I also give scratch when it is cold, maybe that is why they do better in the winter than the summer for me lol

 

[wac]

Thanks a lot for the help, the article was very good. My big concern was that my girls are young and just starting to lay. Only 4 out of 10 are laying I was concern the shorting of light & I might not get all laying this year.

 

[ChickiKat]

We don't add any light. Last winter we went for quite awhile with no eggs but they were molting too....

 

[Nostalchic]

In my experience, once the first year pullets start laying in the fall, they lay pretty well thru that winter without light supplementation. It's the following year, when they often go thru a long molt in late summer and fall that they can really slow down or stop laying. I don't supplement light, my neighbor does, and she seems to think it helps. I've read in various places that it might be best to have a timed light come on early in the am, rather stay on longer at night, so that it doesn't suddenly go off before they are settled on the roost etc - the gradual fading of the light in the evening gives them time to get themselves tucked in. I have a coop with a viewing area and I love to watch this happening in the evening with all the clucks and coos, but it takes awhile, so that makes sense to me.

 

[gritsar]

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This has been my experience as well, pullets/hens coming into their first winter lay well without the light. I think sometimes what happens is people add light during their pullets first winter, the birds lay well, so they assume it was the light that caused them to lay well. In reality, they were going to lay well anyhow. My older hens pump out eggs the rest of the year, so I don't force egg production in the wintertime. My winter hardy breeds continue to lay well no matter what, so it's not like production drops to zero anyhow.