Egg Laying - Christmas Lights

[CalgaryFarmer]

We have been probably been a month without eggs and before that we were getting about 1/3 our usual eggs for about six weeks. SOMETHING HAD TO BE DONE!

I installed a string of white LED Christmas lights inside the coop with about 50 lights on it. The coop is 4x8x4. These are the true white lights as opposed to the soft white lights that have a tinge of yellow in them. It probably does not make any difference.

I put them on a timer. The timer turns the lights on when the sun goes down and is set to stay on for 5 hours. I will shorten the time as the days get longer. You can buy these timers at any big box home renovation store. I think it cost about $25.

I set this up on Saturday and got our first egg on Wednesday. It was a small egg.

 

[cavemanrich]

Winter usually slows the laying . The short days and little light is a big factor. Chicks wont lay in the dark. My girls in the winter stay in a warm condominium inside the garage. There is limited outdoor light, so I provide 12 hours of light for them on a timer. It is not really so they lay eggs. Only 2 lay currently. It is so the don't go COO COO. lol They are happy to the best of my knowledge. Springtime they are moved outdoors to coop, when temperatures are above freezing.
I think the light you put up is jump starting the egg production. WISHING YOU THE BEST.

 

[Spangled]

I set this up on Saturday and got our first egg on Wednesday. It was a small egg.

That was quick work! Yay!

 

[CalgaryFarmer]

I was not expecting anything for 2 or 3 weeks so it was a bit of a surprise

 

[RonP]

May be a fluke.

It does take a few weeks for the hormones to kick in.

 

[aart]

I was not expecting anything for 2 or 3 weeks so it was a bit of a surprise

Chances are it's the natural increase in daylight that started the laying....my older birds(2-3yo) have just started laying again...and I've had lights on since September.

FWIW.....lights should come on early so they can go to roost with the natural sunset, they will be more active that way too.

How old are your birds?

 

[CalgaryFarmer]

The birds are about a year old. We have been getting one egg a day. I assume it is one of them. Perhaps she was on the cusp of laying again. I agree that the light should come on in the morning, or at least dim gradually at night. The timer we have does not do that. It would be a bit tramatic to have the lights shut off suddenly when they are not at their root position.

 

[RonP]

I posted this on another query, this is how I do it, works extremely well, hope it helps:

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 351 days per year.

I turn lights off for 14 days to have birds go into a controlled moult late September .

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 5:30am, off at 9pm.

Power goes on, passes through a photocell, then to a 300 lumen LED bulb, 4.8 watts, in the 8x8 foot print coop, and 2 4.8 watt LEDs for the 14x14 foot print outside run.

I light the 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.

The time on very closely mimics my Summer Solstice in NJ.

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 and 8 hours of darkness.

This system costs less than $5 per year to operate..Use warm white bulbs 2-3000 Kelvin.

 

[CalgaryFarmer]

Thnaks for the comments. Part of the point of this thread is to point out how easy this can be. I really like the second light idea. Thanks. Makes total sense

 

[CalgaryFarmer]

Here is a photo.