Lost power for 5 days so extra lights in coop were off - will my girls molt??

[MontanaChickDoc]

We are in VA and lost power due to a heavy snow, from Monday to Friday morning. This means that my supplemental lighting was off for 5 days, which artificially stretched the days to 16 hours. Are my hens going to get confused and molt? Has anyone else experience this before? What happened?

 

[sourland]

It may cause a break in their laying cycle. It will be interesting to see what happens. This will be a great thread for updates.

 

[aart]

This means that my supplemental lighting was off for 5 days, which artificially stretched the days to 16 hours. Are my hens going to get confused and molt?

How old are they, in weeks or months?
16 hours is a bit long, watch your timing as the day length increases.

 

[MontanaChickDoc]

These are mature layers, 1-4 years old. I just can't afford to feed 70 hens through the winter with no return! I know I'm just shortening their laying longevity but if they get eaten by predators - which is not uncommon in our rural setting - then it doesn't really matter if I "save" their ova over winter. So far I'm still getting 25-30 eggs a day. I had one day with 14 but caught TWO hens breaking eggs and eating them. Those two are now in the cage I call "broody prison". One is a repeat offender and will go bye bye.