Egg production winter tweaking? What's the result?

[nao57]

I wanted to double check this. I read some of the other posts on winter egg production but there's holes in the follow up.

Earlier threads don't state whether or not using a light/red light/heat lamp etc in winter for egg production needs to be on during both day and night, or only during the night. There's also no follow up of people coming back and saying whether or not their experiments worked or not. Its assumed it worked, but nobody comes back and says, hey I tested it, here was the result....

Does this also explain why some people are quoting ducks and chickens for 2 different egg production ratios? I'd literally seen people quoting welsh harlequinn ducks for up to 300 eggs per year, and others quoting for just under 200 eggs per year. Maybe whether or not they had a warming light is the difference? And I'd seen this for runners and others being quoted 2 vastly different figures also.

After you start a warming light for the birds in winter, how long will it take for it to have an effect and turn production back on? (And does this need to be on during day also, or only night?) And another issue is that my ducks go out of the pen and literally won't go back in the pen during the day. So this makes me wonder how you would work this out to get egg production going again? Will the warming lights work to get egg production going again for BOTH ducks and chickens? (Especially if ducks like to go play in the cold...?)

*The reason why I brought this up again is that my ducks have already not been laying for about 3 months now. I can't afford to not have them lay any longer. And its clear the economy is in trouble. I want to know how to get this to work because I can see prices double in my areas what they were last year for many consumer goods. Its only a matter of time before things are getting too expensive. The area we live in has become too expensive already to stay in.*

*I am OK with giving my ducks a break from winter laying. But its already 3 months now. That should be long enough. I don't want to have to buy eggs. Local stores have increased egg prices again in my area again. And part of the justification for having the birds was that the eggs would pay for their feed. But if they aren't laying... the feed isn't being paid for.*

What's this thing about red lights about also? Do you they produce more heat? (And without increasing fire risk?) Can you get a cheaper warming light with a red light for a normal light bulb socket? Or do I still have to use the 'fire hazard' exploding chick incubator standard bigger light?

 

[aart]

Light for winter laying is more about light than heat.
At least for chickens, in a not too harsh climate.
It needs to be on a timer so it's consistent day to day, and not more than 14 hours a day.
Here's a pretty good article on supplemental lighting.

So are you talking about just ducks or chickens too?
What kind of ducks?
How old are they, in months?

...and.....since climate is most important to this subject......
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[nao57]

Light for winter laying is more about light than heat.
At least for chickens, in a not too harsh climate.
It needs to be on a timer so it's consistent day to day, and not more than 14 hours a day.
Here's a pretty good article on supplemental lighting.

So are you talking about just ducks or chickens too?
What kind of ducks?
How old are they, in months?

...and.....since climate is most important to this subject......
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2537339

Good questions. Thanks.

Well one group of ducks is about 15 months. The other group is roughly 9 months. The 15 month group was laying before the shut down. But the second group hadn't really had a chance when the cold shut things down.

I used to have a few chickens but my sister wanted them. So I gave them to her. But I'm regretting that because she got rid of them. So helping her with it was a waste. Oops side tangent there.

Ducks are pekings, black runners, and welsh harleys. All but 2 of the welsh harleys are the gold type, w only 2 silver type. I like all of them though, even the pekings...which have very nice egg sizes when they are producing.

 

[nao57]

What happens if they are exposed to 15+ hours of light? (Article is interesting and says 15.)

I thought it was about heat not light. It will be interesting to experiment on this. And thank you for the article. It gives a few ideas.

 

[aart]

What happens if they are exposed to 15+ hours of light? (Article is interesting and says 15.)

I thought it was about heat not light. It will be interesting to experiment on this. And thank you for the article. It gives a few ideas.

They need a dark period too.

Not sure if ducks are the same as chickens as far as supplementing light.
I know some ducks are not high production and may only lay a short part of the year.
@Isaac 0 is who I call up for duck topics.

 

[Isaac 0]

On a general basis, ducks are more lenient as far as how much light you which to provide for so long, as they really never go into a deep sleep as chickens do, but rather take short naps throughout the day, and into the night. I cannot speak on a personal basis, as I have never supplemented light, but according to Metzer farms, 17 hours in the daylight is a good ballpark to aim for. Viewing from a welfare perspective, going much under that recommended amount will likely reduce the reproductive tole laying all-year would do to a bird.