Egg laying behavior

[gridgeway66]

Ok so while we're still fairly new to raising chickens. We've already learned alot in the past few months with that being said I'm still learning some of the i geuss simple things . Every morning I go out bright and early and open the doors on our coop and turn all the girls loose out in the run. Now with that being said. I have a light inside the coop that stays on 24/7. My questions are 1 should I leave this light on for them at night ? 2 I've read in some post that they need darkness for so many hours a night 3 I've also read that in order for them to be productive egg layers that they need a bright light on inside constantly. All the help we can get is so very appreciative !

 

[hughes homested]

i am relatively new as well (we have had our girls since may 2016) but i feel that they need the dark/nighttimes. i have read that their egg production is affected by the artificial light but i pefer that my girls go about things the way God intended when he designed them. they need that time to rest and if they need to take a break from egg laying then i am totally fine with that.

 

[bobbi-j]

Ok so while we're still fairly new to raising chickens. We've already learned alot in the past few months with that being said I'm still learning some of the i geuss simple things . Every morning I go out bright and early and open the doors on our coop and turn all the girls loose out in the run. Now with that being said. I have a light inside the coop that stays on 24/7. My questions are 1 should I leave this light on for them at night ? 2 I've read in some post that they need darkness for so many hours a night 3 I've also read that in order for them to be productive egg layers that they need a bright light on inside constantly. All the help we can get is so very appreciative !

They do not need constant light. It's good for them to have some night time, too. If you want to keep them laying through the winter, they need light for 12-14 hours a day. I have a light on a timer that during the shortest days of winter comes on around 4:00 am. and goes off shortly after sunrise. This gives them about 12 hours. I don't have it come on at night, as I want them to go to roost naturally when the sun goes down. I don't know how much it really matters, but it seems better for them to go into the coop and settle in as it's getting dark instead of being in the coop with a bright light that suddenly goes off and leaves them in the dark, not on the roost.

 

[gridgeway66]

They do not need constant light. It's good for them to have some night time, too. If you want to keep them laying through the winter, they need light for 12-14 hours a day. I have a light on a timer that during the shortest days of winter comes on around 4:00 am. and goes off shortly after sunrise. This gives them about 12 hours. I don't have it come on at night, as I want them to go to roost naturally when the sun goes down. I don't know how much it really matters, but it seems better for them to go into the coop and settle in as it's getting dark instead of being in the coop with a bright light that suddenly goes off and leaves them in the dark, not on the roost.

Our problem with that was , before I started leaving the light on for them i would go out at dark and all of them would be huddled together on the outside of the coop. They wouldn't go in and roost on their own . Now with the light on they do go up by themselves. So that's what I'll need to do. I'll either start turning off the light when I shut the coop up at night or put a timer on it. Thanks !

 

[triplepurpose]

A lot of people actually prefer not to use any artificial light at all. For many reasons, both pragmatic and humane. A natural daylight cycle is important for immunity, for instance. And while it's true that hens tend to lay less or even stop completely during the shorter days of the year, this may be important functionally in terms of giving their bodies time to rest and recover in preparation for the next laying season. Narrow-mindedly "forcing them to lay more" by artificial means often just results in hens that get "worn out" faster and becoming more prone to cancers or infection.

Also, some breeds have been selected to be better winter layers than others--eg, chanteclers, icelandics, and many others. and Many other factors play a role in improved winter laying such as providing the right amount of shelter for your climate, feeding the proper feeds, and more.

It's possible, and usually better in many ways, to work in sync with their biology rather than try to "trick" it and interfere with it, so to speak.

Just some things to think about (since nobody else really brought them up yet)...

 

[hughes homested]

i can totally understand wanting your girls to sleep inside at night. our run is completely secured but it tripped me out this summer when my biggest brahma girls started perching out there to sleep due to the heat! i want them to be in their actual coop. so we added huge screen doors for the hot months that can be closed for winter. this scared them silly in the beginning. (they absolutely want NOTHING new/different/changed in their house.)but now that temps r dropping off a bit and they r sleeping inside more it makes me a little less worried. that being said, i think u have it figured out that -once they learn where sleepy time happens- the light is not necessary. good luck & glad to meet a fellow chicken friend

 

[bobbi-j]

A lot of people actually prefer not to use any artificial light at all. For many reasons, both pragmatic and humane. A natural daylight cycle is important for immunity, for instance. And while it's true that hens tend to lay less or even stop completely during the shorter days of the year, this may be important functionally in terms of giving their bodies time to rest and recover in preparation for the next laying season. Narrow-mindedly "forcing them to lay more" by artificial means often just results in hens that get "worn out" faster and becoming more prone to cancers or infection.

Also, some breeds have been selected to be better winter layers than others--eg, chanteclers, icelandics, and many others. and Many other factors play a role in improved winter laying such as providing the right amount of shelter for your climate, feeding the proper feeds, and more.

It's possible, and usually better in many ways, to work in sync with their biology rather than try to "trick" it and interfere with it, so to speak.

Just some things to think about (since nobody else really brought them up yet)...

Can you please provide a link with that information in it? I have been looking, and haven't found anything that says that yet. What I have found are a few articles stating that keeping your hens laying in the winter can shorten their egg-laying longevity, but nothing about cancer or increased infections. I haven't even found anything that says it's "inhumane" to "narrow-mindedly force them to lay more". So please, enlighten me.

I have only my experience to go on. The hens that I have kept lights on for the winter did not seem to be any less healthy than the ones I haven't. (I don't do it every winter. Each year is different.) From what I understand, hens are hatched with a certain amount of eggs that they will lay. If you keep them laying in the winter, they may not continue to lay eggs when they are 5 or 6 or 7 years old because those eggs are gone. They may "run out" so to speak. I don't keep them that long anyway. I need to keep rotating my flock if I want younger birds every year. My flock goals differ from those who keep their chickens as pets.

This is one of those subjects that each flock owner has to decide what method best meets their flock goals. If you have chickens for egg production, I would keep them laying in the winter. Whether they are kept on lights or not, chickens slow down their production at around 2 years anyway. The production breeds are pretty much burnt out by then, heritage breeds will decrease but lay a few eggs a week for a few years longer than a production bird. Again - much depends on the flock keeper's goals. My chickens won't live long enough to get cancer whether I keep lights on them or not in the winter. I usually process them at 2 or 3 years old.

OP, do your own research, figure out what's best for your flock and move on that. Enjoy your chicken keeping!

 

[triplepurpose]

Can you please provide a link with that information in it? I have been looking, and haven't found anything that says that yet. What I have found are a few articles stating that keeping your hens laying in the winter can shorten their egg-laying longevity, but nothing about cancer or increased infections. I haven't even found anything that says it's "inhumane" to "narrow-mindedly force them to lay more". So please, enlighten me.

Well, It's pretty well understood that interfering with the circadian rhythms of animals interferes with their physiology negatively. (and asking for "written evidence" to support that just smacks a little of snarkyness to me, though perhaps i misread it.) Immunity is usually the first to suffer--for instance humans with irregular or inadequate sleep patterns do tend to have higher likelihood of health problems, acute and chronic. the fact that the effects are quite subtle doesn't make them not real. and waiting for overwhelming materialistic evidence that something is definitively harmful is often not necessary or wise when there is reasonable indirect evidence suggesting it may not be optimal, particularly when alternatives exist.

But, perhaps "inhumane" was a bit strong a word to use on my part--perhaps i fell victim to hyperbole in trying to make a point. (though in my mind, deliberating choosing to do things that have negative impact on the quality of life of an animal when alternatives exist is by definition inhumane.)

But it is also noticed that you made no attempt to refute the general thesis, if you will, namely that interfering with biological processes rather than working with them is sometimes counterproductive, nor did you acknowledge the fact that--importantly!--there are other ways to help achieve more consistent winter laying in cold places, aside from using artificial lighting. (And we didn't even get into discussing how egg quality may suffer when hens don't get a proper break, to name just one example of the advantages to seasonal rest from laying... That's the sort of thing i meant by "narrowminded;" even "egg production" can be about more than just number of eggs laid...)

However, I'm not really interested in splitting hairs over who's views are more scientifically sound or playing "gotcha." Nor was I trying to say other's opinions and experience aren't valid. Everyone's got their own take on things. I was just trying to round out the discussion a bit and contribute.

Thanks for the opportunity to do so! And best of luck to the OP

 

[bobbi-j]

Well, It's pretty well understood that interfering with the circadian rhythms of animals interferes with their physiology negatively. (and asking for "written evidence" to support that just smacks a little of snarkyness to me, though perhaps i misread it.) Immunity is usually the first to suffer--for instance humans with irregular or inadequate sleep patterns do tend to have higher likelihood of health problems, acute and chronic. the fact that the effects are quite subtle doesn't make them not real. and waiting for overwhelming materialistic evidence that something is definitively harmful is often not necessary or wise when there is reasonable indirect evidence suggesting it may not be optimal, particularly when alternatives exist.

But, perhaps "inhumane" was a bit strong a word to use on my part--perhaps i fell victim to hyperbole in trying to make a point. (though in my mind, deliberating choosing to do things that have negative impact on the quality of life of an animal when alternatives exist is by definition inhumane.)

But it is also noticed that you made no attempt to refute the general thesis, if you will, namely that interfering with biological processes rather than working with them is sometimes counterproductive, nor did you acknowledge the fact that--importantly!--there are other ways to help achieve more consistent winter laying in cold places, aside from using artificial lighting.

However, I'm not really interested in splitting hairs over who's views are more scientifically sound or playing "gotcha." Nor was I trying to say other's opinions and experience aren't valid. I was just trying to round out the discussion a bit and contribute.

Thanks for the opportunity to do so! And best of luck to the OP

I love seeing others' opinions and how different people manage their flocks. In asking for some sort of study to show where you got your information, I was hoping to learn more. I like to read up on things, and I just couldn't find anything in the searches I did on it.

You mentioned other ways to achieve more consistent winter laying. Doesn't that still mess up their normal cycles? Whether you use light or not, they'd still be laying in the winter.

 

[triplepurpose]

I see your point.

I think some of the most promising naturalistic alternatives, aside from warm housing and season-appropriate rations, probably involve to breeding efforts to select for winter laying. Some chickens being bred to thrive in chilly, darker weather than others--some happily forage in the snow.

That could be viewed as "messing with nature" i suppose, but to my mind its different: you are selecting animals with biorythms more in harmony with local conditions rather than artificially and radically altering the environment of birds in a way less in harmony with their genetic coding. In a nutshell, It's when there's a dissonance between the genetic memory or evolved niche, if you will, of an animal, and the conditions it finds itself in that tends to promote pathologies. I guess thats MY point...

And of course just letting them rest in winter is a very acceptible option for some. Having a chance to build up new reserves and recover from the stresses of a laying season can mean improved egg quality and vigor once laying resumes...