Lighting for Off-Season Chicks

[OakR]

Thank you very much @ChickyCh00k , this is really helpful.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

but it made me rethink getting fall chick

Right?! Of course I read all this AFTER placing my order for Sept.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

this was in the “similar threads” section

Yes, that is the other thread I read (thank you for posting). There are a couple of helpful comments, but I was hoping to get a little more info (aside from anecdotes). Maybe it's just not something people concern themselves with. However, it is mentioned in both Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens and The Chicken Health Handbook (as well as a few mentions of this issue on MSU's poultry extension site - though they give no advice on how to manage the lighting for off-season chicks, they just say it should be done, lol).

As a new chicken mama (and someone with chronic anxiety), this will likely plague my existence for the foreseeable future.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

We didn't notice any difference in point of lay from the girls we raised in the spring

It's really good to know you didn't notice any issues! Thank you for sharing that!

 

[ChickyCh00k]

@Ridgerunner - thank you for that very thorough and thoughtful response! I think it's possible that maybe some research on this topic is relating to commercial poultry. However, I don't think Gail Damerow's books are geared toward that industry. I think her material is very much written with the backyard chicken keeper in mind.

I'm guessing the overall idea is that chicks hatched in Spring are maturing and coming into lay as daylight hours are getting shorter (late summer, early fall), whereas chicks hatched in the fall are maturing as daylight hours are getting longer (for my chicks it will be like sometime between mid- Feb to mid-March), so it's backwards, thus the need to correct the lighting in order to avoid reproductive problems.

Maybe it just doesn't matter in backyard flocks, but I'm struggling with why it's mentioned in these books at all if that's the case.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

Ah, I see! Well, it seems as though no one has noticed any of the negative issues mentioned from NOT following this supplemental light schedule, so perhaps it's just an extra (maybe unnecessary) precaution. I do appreciate your feedback!!