Lighting

[mattboy]

Hello Does having a light in a coop affect the average number of eggs layed in a year ?

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yes, 14 hours of light when the days are shorter will keep the hens egg production up. However, they are hatched with all the eggs they can ever create in their little bodies. So forcing them to lay may shorten their longevity of laying.

 

[K-9Dog]

I hooked up a solar light to help out for more light during the darker days. actually installing it today. I do not want to push them too much but with only 2 - I lost one in the 112 degree heat spell, I do want eggs. Hoping to get a few more to add to the mix when i can.

 

[mickey328]

We're experimenting with light...we don't want to "burn them out" but do want eggs, so we're trying to find a happy medium. We just have 6 hens but they're very very generous with eggs. So far, they've been producing far more than we need, so we don't feel the need to push them into full production all winter. At present, we have the light on a timer and it comes on just over an hour before sunup. Production is slowing just a tad...we've gone from 4 or 5 a day to 3 or 4, and that's still more than we really need, so we'll see how it goes.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Without any supplemental lighting, I still get eggs - just not as many as in the summer. Birds that are molting will not lay though, but lighting won't keep them from molting either.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I wonder if "they'll burn out faster" is really a concern in most hens. The fact that they have all the eggs they will ever have when they are hatched, means what?? Does anyone know how many they have? If they are like humans, they have many more than they will even need. Just curious.
I light every year with a little over 14 hours a day and they lay well except when they are molting of course!

 

[Den in Penn]

I wonder if "they'll burn out faster" is really a concern in most hens. The fact that they have all the eggs they will ever have when they are hatched, means what?? Does anyone know how many they have? If they are like humans, they have many more than they will even need. Just curious.
I light every year with a little over 14 hours a day and they lay well except when they are molting of course!

Funny I was just wondering the same thing about that. I remember reading that they have x number of eggs when born, more then they will lay in their life time. If I could only remember where I read that.

 

[Imp]

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I posted this on the other thread.



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