Heat rather than daylight a factor in egg production?

[eggxentric]

I recently judged a high school science fair and on entry featured egg production. The two students used a heat lamp to increase the coop temperature and measured eggs laid in a certain time frame (14 days). Even though they say they had the light on a timer set to turn on and off with daylight hours here (central california), I still think it was the light rather than the heat that increased egg laying. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks,

 

[gamebirdsonly]

I would say lights. It's been below zero here a few times this winter and in one my coops I had a lights on them and they laid.

 

[gocrow77]

I'd have to say that the heat does play some sort of role. In the winter mine are always more productive when the weather is mild. I have lights in my coop as well, I have no timer so they are always just "on". When we get ice and snow I get about half the eggs that I do when it's above freezing temps and no precipitation or just rain. Of course, my chickens are sissies and don't like the snow, lol. They won't hardly leave the coop even for table and kitchen scraps.

 

[chiknhut]

I believe that light is a bigger factor. I haven't gotten eggs in a few months until last week. I have 2 coops that have a chain link fence seperating each run and coop. In one coop I put a light in with a timer 2 weeks ago. Beginning last week I got 2,2,3,3,3,3,6,6 eggs. The other coop has no artificial light and I haven't gotten the first egg from that coop yet. The chickens in the coop with no eggs are a few months older than the other chickens.

 

[Teach97]

would need more information todetermine how they tested. but for arguments sake...I am going to assume they used two similiar coops. In one they had light from non heat lamps and in one they had light from heat lamps. They measured the temps in the two coops and showed that yes they had increased the temp in one barn versus the other. They colected eggs and there were more in the hotter coop. Then they should have reversed the coops...put heat in the barn that just had light...then the egg production went down in the now cold barn and up in the now warmer barn. This would have shown heat was a factor w/o looking at light. Is this close?

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

i've had days where is has been cold in my coop and the light has been on for the same amount of time as those days where it has been warmer in there. i found no difference in egg production on those days. but i have breeds that are supposed to be good winter layers and this is my first year with chickens.

 

[HEChicken]

I've always wondered about the role of light. Where I live, we pretty much never get 14 hours of daylight - the supposed "optimal" light for egg-laying. Yet hens here do lay. My pullets started right after Christmas when, having just had the shortest day of the year, we were only getting about 11 hours of daylight. Now I know that pullets will lay in conditions that an older hen won't but still - even in mid-June we won't quite have 14 hours so if light were the only factor, the laying season would be pretty short.

 

[All about the EGG]

No light, no heat. Three sex links=three eggs a day.