Drop in egg production? About Supplemental Light in the Coop...

[nickie]

Too funny, I just added a strand of rope lights to my coop over the weekend. I was concerned about a bulb being broken and regular strand lights make me nervous since my son bit a bulb off, chewed it up and swallowed some when he was 2. I had rope lights and decided that's what I was most comfortable with. My husband calls it their mood lighting.

 

[greymane]

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You make me sick!

Just as we are supposed to get our first snow today.

 

[ADozenGirlz]

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I have a friend here in Connecticut who is a new chicken-keeper. Her hens had just started laying this summer and then she began to notice a big decline in egg production as the days grew shorter this autumn. I recommended the Christmas tree lights to her and within 10 days, egg production was BACK to normal. It really is quite amazing what a few extra hours of light can make!

 

[stubbornhill]

We have a mixed age flock. About a month ago the egg production dropped off to nothing. I had given them a rest until last week. I purchased a timer and have a light that goes on at 3:30am. It lights up both the cow barn and the hen house. The cows don't seem to mind and after a week, our younger girls have started laying their eggs again. The older ones still haven't started back up, but I'm sure they will. I am glad that we put the light up and we do need it to do farm chores at 5am anyhow. A good $6.00 investment in a timer!

 

[southerndesert]

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You make me sick!

Just as we are supposed to get our first snow today.

Yes indeed I know how it is, was born in MI and lived in Northern IL growing up.

I also remember frozen eggs and water dishes.

Our summers are unbelievably hot though so it's not all fun in Arizona....

 

[ADozenGirlz]

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[Fred's Hens]

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You make me sick!

Just as we are supposed to get our first snow today.

Yes indeed I know how it is, was born in MI and lived in Northern IL growing up.

I also remember frozen eggs and water dishes.

Our summers are unbelievably hot though so it's not all fun in Arizona....

At the extremes, you just trade one area's cold for another area's oppressive heat. Not much difference, really. It's a trade off. Now, before all the Northern Californians with their even-all-year type weather pipe in, yeah, we know.

 

[mcjessen]

I have seen two of my three girls completely stop laying. They started in mid Aug and mid Sept and haven't laid a single egg for about two weeks now. My Australorp keeps on truckin', one a day with a skip every now and then.

I know, I know, I know, the time of year has a lot to do with egg production BUT what about the temperatures? We went from mid to low 40's at night right down to mid to low 20's (depending on which thermometer I looked at). It's was 22 this morning. I turned their light on at 6:30 a.m. and then it will turn back on at dusk and stay on until about 9:00 pm (they are roosting by 6:30 p.m. and don't get off unless I visit). I do not have a dimmer on their light.

Their feed is the same and I added a heated water container yesterday as the double wall 2-gallon was frozen the night before. Treats consist of the following: scratch, bread, raw sunflower seeds, lettuce, spinach, cornbread, apples, raspberries, blueberries, plain yogurt or just more layer pellets. Those are rotated daily and generally a handful is all they get.

So my questions are:

1. Can a quick shift in overnight temps affect a certain breed? (Buff Orpingtons)
2. Does the lack of a dimmer play a huge role in production?
3. Do they need more scratch to generate more body heat? (I actually had someone say to just feed scratch in the winter to keep production up. I'm not completely convinced this is the way to go.)
4. IF they are cold, will that affect production? (I know they have feathers but what if the Buffs are "sensitive"? LOL)

Thanks for the input.

Just thought of something and this will sound silly. My DH lined the inside of the coop (4x4x4) with cardboard two weekends ago because he is worried about the girls getting too cold. The inside of the coop is painted white and now is brown because of the cardboard. And, the solar lights used as nightlights (which don't work this time of year) were removed and the light bulb was installed. Now that I think about it, the installation corresponds with the Buff girls stopping egg laying. Ventilation is the same.

1. Do you think the color of the inside of the coop can affect laying? - told you it would be silly!

 

[Fred's Hens]

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[mcjessen]

Fred's Hens :

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Thanks for the input. I did edit my first post to ask about coop color but feel now that it may not even be worth answering. LOL! I'm grasping at straws for an answer that may not exist. My question about the dimmer was related to the fact that suddenly the light turns on or off and may be a bit of a shock to them. I was curious if the "shock" was playing a role in reduced production. Based on your answer Fred'sHens, I will reduce treats to every other day or every third day and continue feeding just the layer. I have a new bag of Purina Omega 3 layer pellets I'm integrating with the end of a standard run of the mill layer pellet this week. I will also set the timer to come on at 4:00 am and off at 6:30 pm. Thanks again for the input and I have a feeling I'm just getting worked up about nothing.

Fred'sHens, your input was wonderful.