Egg laying in winter.

[Driley62]

Will my younger girls whom are about to start laying here soon go into molt during the winter months if I don't add artificial lighting? Last year in my "old coop" I put in a light to add a very subtle source of heat of a normal bulb because I questioned the design(didn't quite turn out the way I planned). That was my senior birds start of their first year of laying so I wasn't sure if the lighting played a factor in that or not.

Not trying to keep the seniors from molting. Would just hate to have no eggs over the winter months.

Does anyone add artificial lighting in their coops to possibly help the molting process along? Unsure if adding lighting helps them in the molting process or not.

Thanks

 

[aart]

Unsure if adding lighting helps them in the molting process or not.

It does not, in fact can inhibit it.

Multi aged flocks can be tricky. Hopefully your pullets will start laying before the light gets any shorter, then they should lay all winter with no lights, especially if they are high production breeds.

I stopped using lights in the fall so the older birds can molt. I turn them up in mid December.

Last year in my "old coop" I put in a light to add a very subtle source of heat of a normal bulb

Not a good idea, they don't need heat anyway.
If using lights for laying, they need to be on a timer and be consistent every day.
Here's a pretty good article on supplemental lighting.

Would just hate to have no eggs over the winter months.

Eggs are a seasonal food, it's almost impossible to have them lay all year around, tho some will swear thiers do...and still have healthy birds.

 

[Driley62]

It does not, in fact can inhibit it.

Multi aged flocks can be tricky. Hopefully your pullets will start laying before the light gets any shorter, then they should lay all winter with no lights, especially if they are high production breeds.

I stopped using lights in the fall so the older birds can molt. I turn them up in mid December.


Not a good idea, they don't need heat anyway.
If using lights for laying, they need to be on a timer and be consistent every day.
Here's a pretty good article on supplemental lighting.


Eggs are a seasonal food, it's almost impossible to have them lay all year around, tho some will swear thiers do...and still have healthy birds.

I thought I read somewhere where first season layers don't need the added light. When it comes to a very subtle heat source I mean very subtle. Meaning only changing the temp a degree or two as I knew they didn't need artificial heat. It was more an attempt at keeping inside the coop warm enough to keep the heated waterer nipples from freezing open and prevent stands of ice under the waterer which didn't quite work on our colder days up here in chazy. Some of our colder days last year reached below zero for a couple days at a time. I think the coldest it reached inside was like 25 degrees on those days. Between the regular light bulb and the birds it made that temperature difference. I do have a timer for the light in the coop. I think last year I had it turn on at 4 am them shut off at 7am then turn back on from 5p to 7p.

 

[Driley62]

It does not, in fact can inhibit it.

How does a light inhibit aid in the molting process? There seems to not be much discussion on that concept.

 

[aart]

It was more an attempt at keeping inside the coop warm enough to keep the heated waterer nipples from freezing open and prevent stands of ice under the waterer which didn't quite work on our colder days up here in chazy.

Heated waterer should keep nipples functioning...if they are horizontal nipples and not vertical nipples.
Hard to keep the drips from freezing.

 

[Driley62]

Heated waterer should keep nipples functioning...if they are horizontal nipples and not vertical nipples.
Hard to keep the drips from freezing.

Don't get me wrong, the nipples didn't freeze solid. But they did freeze from say a drop that sat on the outside of the unit if it didn't drip off. Anytime I spotted a drip stand I removed it to help cut down on moisture inside the coop and it worked. I had no birds that sustained frostbite and if they did it was from maybe some snow that landed on their comb then they went inside long enough for it to melt(combined from body temp and a warmer inside coop temp from their own flock body heat) then back outside and was only a small pencil dot size of frostbite. I was terribly concerned last year of their combs and frostbite.

 

[aart]

Don't get me wrong, the nipples didn't freeze solid. But they did freeze from say a drop that sat on the outside of the unit if it didn't drip off.

Yep, have seen that here too, can help to have the nipple tipped down so that lip drains.
How warm is the water?
I use an aquarium heater so water temp is ~68°.

I was terribly concerned last year of their combs and frostbite.

Have had some terrible FB here, consider it pretty much inevitable.
Especially when they nosh on the snow banks and nip their wattles.
Looks awful but they all healed up on their own.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/frostbite-in-sw-michigan.74597/

 

[Driley62]

Yep, have seen that here too, can help to have the nipple tipped down so that lip drains.
How warm is the water?
I use an aquarium heater so water temp is ~68°.


Have had some terrible FB here, consider it pretty much inevitable.
Especially when they nosh on the snow banks and nip their wattles.
Looks awful but they all healed up on their own.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/frostbite-in-sw-michigan.74597/

Honestly im not sure on temp. Last year I bought a 2 gallon heater from runnings that kicks on and off as needed. This year I bought a in bucket heater that does the same from runnings that I can put in a home made 5g waterer. Last year with 13 birds they were drinking a gallon to gallon and a half a day. Now we have 20 birds so I decided to make a larger waterer as a larger company made one was insane on price. I can't find the items on their site, but I took screen shots of the items on other sites. You'll see said items attached.

 

[K0k0shka]

Pullets don't molt their first year, so if they start laying before winter, they'll probably lay through winter just fine.

A lot in the chicken organism is controlled by light - when they wake up and go to sleep, whether and how much they lay, and yes, molting, too. The shorter days are a signal to the chicken's body to molt and prepare for winter, and to ease on the eggs to conserve energy in the cold and redirect protein to the new feathers. If you give them supplemental light and extend the daylight hours significantly, their bodies may not get the signal to molt, or they may not molt properly, and they'll be compromised for the winter. So if you add light, do it after everybody is done molting. And make sure they have high quality feed, maybe with extra protein on the side, if you'll be supplementing light through the rest of the winter. They need more calories to keep warm, and if they don't have enough, the first to go will be the eggs.