How many days of light should it take?

[philsphamily]

We got our first hens saturday before last. They had not exposed to any artificial light and were not laying. I started light 7 days ago and bumped it up 30min a day and now am at 15 hours where I will keep it. Still no eggs. Has anyone else introduced artificial light to a new flock in the winter? Note: all our hens are over a year old.
Thanks
Keith in North Carolina

 

[sunnychooks]

It may have nothing to do with the light. Sometimes chickens take a while to adjust to a new home and stop laying for a while. Give them some more time and see what happens. Good Luck!

 

[philsphamily]

Will continue with quazi patient waiting.

 

[Chicken Woman]

How old are they ?

Can't tell where your from and the weather makes a difference and so does the breed.It's a;ways nice if you enter the state your from because when you are communicating with people it does make a difference on many issues.

Some breeds lay almost everyday of the year some less so that would be good to know.

If they are real young they may not be ready and if they are 3 or 4 yrs they may lay alot less due to age.

 

[william9792]

what part of NC are you in? i am in graham, NC

 

[Wifezilla]

In my case, I am talking ducks, not chickens, but I started putting a Ryobi flashlight in their coop. The battery pack lasts about 3 1/2 - 4 hours before it fades out. It gets dark here around 5:30pm. Sunrise is after 6:30am. So 11 hours of natural light plus 3 hours of added good light plus a little more dim light. Gets me close to 14.

It took a week with the light for my khaki to start laying and another week for my buff to start laying. My runner is molting, so no eggs from her yet.

 

[gamebirdsonly]

It took 2 to 3 weeks before my birds started laying.

 

[greenmulberry]

It takes me two weeks after addition of light to get the layers going again.