Good or Bad Idea?

[Uncle Marc]

Okay, my flock is now 19 weeks old. The daylight is changing. I added a daylight color fluorescent fixture last night to give them 16 hours of light. I also adjusted the automatic chicken door so that instead of opening to let them into the run at 7 am, it will stay closed until 9 am.

My thought was that it would give them more time to start nesting.

Good idea or bad idea?

 

[FireTigeris]

For what? Health of chickens or laying-

Chickens, for health need a break and time off, if you live somewhere where the temperature will change to a dangerous level (not FL) you will also prevent molt.

Chicken molt into new feathers in fall, based on photoperiod (amount of daylight) if you change the amount of light, (especially UVA/UVB) they will lay instead of molt- when winter comes they will not have nice whole insulated feathers.

Chickens for laying need (x hours) daylight- it tells them it's breeding season or a safe time to lay, they might lay like spring, the roosters (if any around) may get hormonal and broodyness (if present in your flocks genes) although hormonal can be triggered.

It's up to you-

I'm in North FL so I don't add light, the heavy laying season is long enough my birds do molt and I get nice full sized eggs and deeper shell color when they resume lay, I am not worried about winter temperatures and my chickens, even ones that are over bred before winter (still naked backed) due to the temps here- I'm more worried about heat stress...

 

[Uncle Marc]

I'm trying to inspire laying and to keep them inside long enough to be around the nests. I've only added about 45 minutes of light from what we are currently getting. Sun used to come up at 6 now it comes up at 6:45. It used to stay light until 9:45, now it's more like 9. I have the lights come on at 6 am and stay on until 7:15 when the sun is fully up. I have them coming on at 8:30 and staying on until 9:15. I have the automated door opening now at 9 am instead of 7 am. That was to keep them inside the coop longer so they might check out the nests rather than playing in the run.

Any thoughts with this additional information?

 

[7L Farm]

For what? Health of chickens or laying-

Chickens, for health need a break and time off, if you live somewhere where the temperature will change to a dangerous level (not FL) you will also prevent molt.

Chicken molt into new feathers in fall, based on photoperiod (amount of daylight) if you change the amount of light, (especially UVA/UVB) they will lay instead of molt- when winter comes they will not have nice whole insulated feathers.

Chickens for laying need (x hours) daylight- it tells them it's breeding season or a safe time to lay, they might lay like spring, the roosters (if any around) may get hormonal and broodyness (if present in your flocks genes) although hormonal can be triggered.

It's up to you-

I'm in North FL so I don't add light, the heavy laying season is long enough my birds do molt and I get nice full sized eggs and deeper shell color when they resume lay, I am not worried about winter temperatures and my chickens, even ones that are over bred before winter (still naked backed) due to the temps here- I'm more worried about heat stress...

I agree. Just let nature take its course.

 

[Mavrik]

I too disagree to adding light, chicken health is more important than a couple of eggs. Locking them in won't help at all, it would add stress and may reduce egg laying.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I have used 14 hours of light for 19 years & my chickens always molt when it's time regardless. Who has chickens that don't molt??? Where does this info come from? I turn my light on beginning Aug 15th. MY April hatchers molt sometime Oct to Dec and all is well. They molt at slightly different times, so some are laying & some are molting. Adding light within reason is not a big deal.

 

[FireTigeris]

I'm trying to inspire laying and to keep them inside long enough to be around the nests. I've only added about 45 minutes of light from what we are currently getting. Sun used to come up at 6 now it comes up at 6:45. It used to stay light until 9:45, now it's more like 9. I have the lights come on at 6 am and stay on until 7:15 when the sun is fully up. I have them coming on at 8:30 and staying on until 9:15. I have the automated door opening now at 9 am instead of 7 am. That was to keep them inside the coop longer so they might check out the nests rather than playing in the run.

Any thoughts with this additional information?

Are the free ranged? mine are penned. they go back to the nest to lay- the pullets have to work it out, but get it by time they lay regular eggs.
Hens lay eggs at any time, as soon as the eggs are ready, when my chciekens are bored they move eggs around, eggs with thin or damaged shell can break, broken eggs get eaten, smart heans -LEARN- this behavior.

Do whatever you want, It may not work as you intend it and they also may not molt in time for winter.

Are they safe form predators year around, inside the coop and outside?
How much room closed up does each hen have? (if it's less then four square foot each bird... your gonna have a bad time)
Do they have access to food and water inside?

The largest egg reduces I have seen in order:

Stress (especially heat or a group of predators pestering just before roost time coons and dogs are great at this...)
Egg Eaters (yummy, those shelless eggs and those soft shelled eggs that the pullets lay... hum what about his one *peck* (chickens or other animals) )
Age (anybody over 5 or so drops again from the original after 2 years old drop)
Food/supplement issues (causes stress, see number one and two, if the eggs are weak they get eaten or there's not enough food production drops or ceases)

 

[FireTigeris]

I have used 14 hours of light for 19 years & my chickens always molt when it's time regardless. Who has chickens that don't molt??? Where does this info come from? I turn my light on beginning Aug 15th. MY April hatchers molt sometime Oct to Dec and all is well. They molt at slightly different times, so some are laying & some are molting. Adding light within reason is not a big deal.

Ok, the way I phrased it is misleading, sorry- not that they won't molt at all, they may not molt in time- I thought I got that clarified later...

(mine don't even w/o extra light till about nov due to photoperoid here, of course we don't get more then 3-5 hard freezes all year and we are almost never below about 20*F)

 

[Uncle Marc]

My hens are not free ranged. They live in a coop which is very secure from predators and their run is a caged area under the coop. I think there is plenty of square footage. They come and go from the run through an automatic chicken door. They were hatched April 8th and so are about 19 weeks old. No eggs yet. I've read that by giving them 16 hours of light each day that they will become better layers when the time comes.

No eggs have shown up in the nest boxes, in the coop or in the run.

Does this additional information clarify things better?

 

[FireTigeris]

Look, it's up to you.

Put fake eggs (I have wooden ones and stone ones) where you want them to lay so they get the idea.

Everyone's climate is different (hot-wet-2 seasons, hot-dry-2 seasons, cold-wet-2 seasons, cold-dry- 2 seasons, mild 4-seasons, and everyone's chickens are different breeds- hot or cold hearty, layer, meat or duel purpose -designer, heritage or production... which means all kinds of different answers are possible.

Everyone will have to come up with what is right for them and their chickens, my laying season is very long, I lose egg quality towards the end of oct- early nov. after molt the have great eggs- this to ME means the bodies need the rest from making eggs to make the feathers and 'cool off' the laying track.

Everyone will have to make decisions like vet care, or home care, or no additional care, to 'cull' by removing from breeding or 'cull' to remove from living, how to humanly dispatch a chick and everything between a chick and an elderly chicken and what medical treatments to do routinely, or as needed, or not at all.

If they are not laying yet, IMHO you would be wasting electricity, current photoperiod will have nothing to due with future laying unless you can point me to a well constructed study on pre-lay pullets and photoperiod.

You were talking about keeping them confined longer in the coop itself longer in your earlier post or I misunderstood, for confined birds feather picking, resource guarding, and bulling are common.

My birds are in a large pen with coop attached and no closing door between them, they have the whole covered/enclosed part of the run and coop to roost and the whole covered/enclosed run and the hardware cloth portion of the run to roam whenever they want. (pictures in my signature)

If you want them closed and lighted and you are sure they have 4 square feet of room or more each and they have plenty of water and food accessible inside and there is plenty of ventilation with all of those bodies and lights to let the heat out nd fresh air in- It sounds ok- If you are depriving them of one of those things... I would not do it.