does supplemental light affect molting and supplemental lighting question
- Thread starter lissalischicks
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Just out of curiosity, if I calculate 14 hours in January i will be setting the clock for the light to go on at 3am! Is that what everyone else does?
Yep, that's what I did.
I think my earliest is 2:30 a.m., so you are correct!
Just curious, why are you waking them in the middle of the night? Is there a reason you don't just do some in the morning and some at night so it's more like the times you would have real summer daylight? ie light from 6am till 8pm is still 14 hrs?
Many folks do that. If I did just lighting in the morning it would have to start at 2:30 AM. Rooster crowing at 2:30? No thanks. Eggs being laid that early, to sit and freeze for 4 - 5 hours before the sun comes up? No thanks. Hens hollering for their morning FF and for the pop door to be opened? No thanks. I have my lighting split. Goes on 6:30 - 10 AM, and again from 3:30 - 8:30 PM. My birds are always on the perch before lights out. So, the theory that chickens need natural sunset so they don't get left stumbling in the dark when lights suddenly go out is not valid, at least with my hens. They must be able to tell time.
When thinking of chickens living on the equator some interesting ideas come to mind. Why would anyone bother to add more than 12 hours of light? There is only 12 hours of light in a day 365 days a year on the equator and nobody talks of supplemental lighting there. It's with this in mind when I supplement light it's only to keep 12 hours of light. Pullets don't miss a beat in laying with 12 hours. Up North here the 12 hour light is mid to late September and plan to put in a light in next week. Have been shopping around for battery powered led with timer and found something of interest. I don't like using extension cords in winter. A short string of LED lights that run on AA batteries and have a timer to turn on for 6 hours and off for 18. For $6 at Amazon I'm willing to give it a try. Best guess as to how it works is you turn it on when you want it to turn on each day and it will auto shut off in 6 hours. Bit of a waste in battery to have it on that long but seems simple enough. Will install then get up a 5am to turn on first morning and see how it works turning itself on the rest of week.
https://www.amazon.com/LIDORE-Light...73858044&sr=8-2&keywords=led+light+with+timer
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Let me know how that battery system works out for you in the cold of the winter. You do raise an interesting ? re: equatorial day light. I think it's one of those myths of chicken keeping. If repeated often enough, it becomes fact. I'm guessing that there have been some studies done in the commercial laying houses that point to 14 hours as yielding the best production. Then again, I've heard that many poultry houses keep lighting 24/7. Again, that may be an other of those oft repeated myths.
True, it's often hard to separate hearsay and facts. I do think studies were likely done in commercial laying industry. 14 hours of total light probably is optimal but what are we talking about in the real world for difference? 1/2 an egg per bird per week? I've not used lighting in years and am starting again this year but when I did use it the laying pullets did not miss a beat with 12 hours. Back then we had hatchery birds that in pullet year would go 9 days of lay then take a day off and that continued with lighting 12 hours. OK, maybe they slowed to 8 eggs in a row then took a day off- it's hard to know unless I took strict records. What I'm saying is it wasn't noticeable in a small flock. What was noticeable was the slow in eggs during the coldest part of winter. When temps are below 0F for few weeks and highs under 20F they definitely slow in laying. Lighting has no effect on extreme cold.
With the problems of confinement and added hours in morning, like you said roosters crowing in middle of night and general anxiety of birds wanting feed it's a lot easier to lengthen the day to 12 hours. My experience has been that is all that is needed. By starting the light at 5 am I'll actually be giving them closer to 13 hours but that will slowly diminish to 12 after the solstice. Will probably have to reset the time it turns on after daylight savings. I do hope that $6 string light on timer works well even in extreme cold. If so it will be the best thing since pre sliced bread! No fire hazards and very inexpensive alternative. We buy batteries in bulk at Costco so that wont be too much of added costs.
With the problems of confinement and added hours in morning, like you said roosters crowing in middle of night and general anxiety of birds wanting feed it's a lot easier to lengthen the day to 12 hours. My experience has been that is all that is needed. By starting the light at 5 am I'll actually be giving them closer to 13 hours but that will slowly diminish to 12 after the solstice. Will probably have to reset the time it turns on after daylight savings. I do hope that $6 string light on timer works well even in extreme cold. If so it will be the best thing since pre sliced bread! No fire hazards and very inexpensive alternative. We buy batteries in bulk at Costco so that wont be too much of added costs.
There are a lot of opinions on supplementing light to keep the chickens laying during time period where there is less than 12-14 hours of available daylight.
My coop gets ~16 hours of light now 365 days per year.
My birds seem to molt regardless.
Having had to install electricity for the thermostatically controlled water heater, I took advantage and installed a lighting system.
My system has two timers. The first is set to turn the lights on at 5am, off at 9pm.
This timer also is used as the to power my heated nest boxes when called for.
For the lights, timer goes on, power passes through a photocell, then to a 300 lumen LED bulb, 4.8 watts, in the coop, and 2 - 4.8 watt LEDs for the outside run.
I light the outdoor run because I found the birds huddled outside the coop door in the dark one 5:30am morning...
They have access to the run 24/7, as it is as secure as the coop.
The lights are on only when it is dark enough outside to be necessary (photocell).
The time on very closely mimics my Summer Solstice.
The second timer is set to go on at 8:30pm, off at 9:30pm, a diffused 200 lumen LED 4 watt bulb.
This low light allows the birds to settle in before all lights out.
I have used this method for a few years now, works well, some of my flock members are >9 years old now... all seem happy and unstressed.
This system costs less than $5 per year to operate.
My coop gets ~16 hours of light now 365 days per year.
My birds seem to molt regardless.
Having had to install electricity for the thermostatically controlled water heater, I took advantage and installed a lighting system.
My system has two timers. The first is set to turn the lights on at 5am, off at 9pm.
This timer also is used as the to power my heated nest boxes when called for.
For the lights, timer goes on, power passes through a photocell, then to a 300 lumen LED bulb, 4.8 watts, in the coop, and 2 - 4.8 watt LEDs for the outside run.
I light the outdoor run because I found the birds huddled outside the coop door in the dark one 5:30am morning...
They have access to the run 24/7, as it is as secure as the coop.
The lights are on only when it is dark enough outside to be necessary (photocell).
The time on very closely mimics my Summer Solstice.
The second timer is set to go on at 8:30pm, off at 9:30pm, a diffused 200 lumen LED 4 watt bulb.
This low light allows the birds to settle in before all lights out.
I have used this method for a few years now, works well, some of my flock members are >9 years old now... all seem happy and unstressed.
This system costs less than $5 per year to operate.
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