First night of 13-14 hour "day" light...

[BigBlueHen53]

How long does it take for a pullet to start laying their full sized eggs?

You've gotten excellent answers above, Ted. From my own experience I would just say, "not too long." A couple of months, maybe; maybe a little less. Not years.

 

[Ted Brown]

My query was based on what size eggs I am now getting - my large eggs are few, my June hatch pullets are giving me the majority small eggs.

2024 Pullets start laying late December after late June hatch, so close to 20 weeks (I will try to get eggs into the incubator in May next year 'cause been slim egg pickings last few months.).

Also, while I believe supplemental light is the best course and will steady state at 14 hrs/day, current jump in eggs could be youth related.

Thank you all.

 

[Mrs. K]

I don't have electricity at the coop, so just a theoretical question. But why do people add the light in the morning, not the afternoon? Or why don't you add a bit in the morning, and add a bit in the afternoon.

I have kept chickens for years, but never quite got it figured out. Last year, I went from November to the end of January without an egg. My dear hubby, teased me dreadfully and there was empty talk about soup.

This summer I put up about 16 dozen eggs in glass jars for the long dark winter. And this winter, I have gotten 2 eggs all winter at least, and just lately sometimes 4 eggs. The two came from hens that hatched in July and August of 23. They did not begin to lay until February but kept on laying so far this winter. However, we have had a very mild winter with days of very bright sunshine, hardly a cloudy day. I think the quality makes a difference too.

@Ted - as you are so far north, I think if you want pullets to lay through the winter, you need to hatch much earlier than May or you won't make it. I think you want the 20 weeks old to be in August or Early September. Later than that, daylight is waning, and they might not make it.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

I don't have electricity at the coop, so just a theoretical question. But why do people add the light in the morning, not the afternoon? Or why don't you add a bit in the morning, and add a bit in the afternoon.

Better to have them go to roost with the natural sunset.

 

[Folly's place]

Yes, that's why. Morning can be any time, dark should come slowly so the birds get into their coop and roost.
Mary

 

[BigBlueHen53]

As I've mentioned before in this thread, I am not an early riser, so getting up before dawn to turn a light on for my girls - just ain't a-gonna happen! I've been giving mine a couple of hours of extra light in the evening, from about 5 pm till 7 pm, for a couple of months now, starting from when everyone finished molting. And it's working. Instead of getting 0-2 or 3 eggs a day as I normally might at this time of year, I'm getting anywhere from 7 to 11, and recently got 13. I don't think it matters so much WHEN they get the extra light, just so long as they get it consistently.

 

[Folly's place]

Ours is on a timer, the only way! Not getting up super early, for sure.
Mary

 

[Ted Brown]

Ours is on a timer, the only way! Not getting up super early, for sure.
Mary

Ditto here. Timer makes the addition of supplemental lighting a nothing burger.

I get up early but first I set a fire then I make my coffee. Chickens come later.

BTW I am getting 5-7 eggs/day.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don't have electricity at the coop, so just a theoretical question. But why do people add the light in the morning, not the afternoon? Or why don't you add a bit in the morning, and add a bit in the afternoon.

I've noticed that no matter the issue, people manage it in different ways. No matter how someone does it somebody else will do it differently. No matter how they manage it, they will often come up with a rational that their way is the best and everyone else is wrong.

What kind of roost should you use, round (what diameter), 2x4 on end, 2x4 flat, a shelf? There have been some great discussions on that. How do you raise a cockerel with the flock? Some strong opinions there however you do that. How do you heat baby chicks in a brooder? At what age do you butcher a cockerel? The list goes on and on.

I do not extend lights but I still have some opinions. If you don't use a timer you have to get up early if you extend it in the morning. Do you know how much some people hate getting up early in the morning every day, including weekends? If you wake them early in the morning and leave them locked in the coop, do you have enough room in your coop so they don't start fighting and bullying? If you extend in the evening the poor babies might not be able to go to the roosts when the lights go out. When I'm coop-training chickens I wait until after dark and toss them onto the coop floor and let them work it out instead of sitting the poor babies on the roosts. Once they start putting themselves to bed in there they find a safe place to roost. It's probably not going to be on the roosts with the adults anyway, at least in my coop and with my flock. I understand, I truly am a heartless barbarian.

The length of day is changing every day. If you are going to add light on one end, you need to adjust it regularly. If you adjust light both morning and evening you don't need to do any adjusting or look at sunrise and sunset times every day.

How much time do you add? Some people seem to believe you need 14 hours or maybe 16 hours of daylight. Since mine lay eggs in winter with only 10 hours of daylight my opinion is more about whether days are getting longer. shorter, or no change than about actual length of daylight.

We all have our opinions about several different things. I include myself in that group on many topics. As to why we do things differently, some of that is experience and some is just human nature.

 

[Folly's place]

So true, RR. And without electricity in our coop, chicken keeping here in winter wouldn't 'fly'. Changing out waterers three times daily? Not happening. Extra lighting in winter? No way. Being able to turn lights on any time, rather than relying on a flashlight is also wonderful.
We have horses, and their water tank is heated all winter. When I pay the electric bill, and remind myself how much more even one non-surgical colic would cost, enough to heat that water all winter!
Horses will drink less if it's ice cold, not a good thing. Do chickens feel the same way? Maybe not, I don't know.
Mary