Natural light vs Artificial light

[Ridgerunner]

A poultry professor who worked with commercial chicken operations would sometimes assist with forcing a commercial laying flock to molt when production levels dropped. He said that just a stray pinprick of light could cause some of them to not molt. That's not the same as trying to keep all of them laying instead of molting, but I thought it was interesting.

1. Is the extra evening natural light causing this increase?

Possibly but probably not that much. The days are getting slightly longer but it is a slow increase. I assume your hens molted and quit laying. Some hens will wait up into spring to start laying after a molt but a lot will start laying when thy finish the molt regardless of time of year. Did yours molt?

2. Based upon last years two coop data and whats happening this year, are my lights really doing anything?

You said "This year I have all chickens in one coop I know the ages and laying expectations". Does this mean you understand that many pullets will skip the molt their first fall/winter and continue laying through the fall/winter until the following fall when they typically molt? I'm not sure what you mean by "laying expectations". That makes it hard to respond to this. I don't know how much of this you understand.

The main benefit to extending lights is to stop them from molting so they continue to lay instead of using the nutrition that goes to making eggs for feather growth. After a long period (usually around 13 months for a commercial flock, not sure about our backyard flocks) of continuous laying production drops and egg quality can deteriorate. The hens' bodies sort of wear down. Even with the lights lights held steady it's not unusual for some to go through a mini-molt to recharge their batteries.

Another benefit of extending the lights is that they have longer to eat so they get more nutrition that they can turn into eggs.

Another possible advantage, back to your first question. Some hens will resume laying after they finish the molt regardless of light. But some will wait for the days to get longer. If you extend the light you can sometimes trick them into thinking the days are getting longer earlier than they really are.

3. Would giving them light in the PM vs the AM make a difference? I know in the PM it would put them into sudden darkness, but I could fix that by staggering the off times on my lights.

Is sudden darkness a real problem for you? You can always try and observe. Your flock, coop, and total situation may be different enough it's not an issue. You are unique, just like everyone else. You have your own set of conditions so your results can be different. I try to encourage trial and error so you can learn what works for you. You mentioned there is some light coming in there.

It is possible there is something in your lifestyle that would make it easier for you to extend lights in the PM instead of AM. I consider you as important in this as the chickens. I don't know why it would make any difference to the chickens whether it was morning or night. Since sunrise and sunset change daily and how cloudy it is can make a difference, the way to truly control light is to add lights in the morning and the evening.

 

[Shadrach]

The main benefit to extending lights is to stop them from molting so they continue to lay instead of using the nutrition that goes to making eggs for feather growth.

This is an old farmers wives tale. It's complete nonsense.
There is no biological connection between moulting and egg laying.
Hens can and do molt during laying cycles.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I read lots of posts where people say they use lights and they see production increase this time of year. I see increases too this time of year without any lights. Some of my hens resumed production back in November.

I personally don't think extra lights necessarily is the reason for others increases.

We have been experiencing a milder winter than normal and my production is way up on average compared to years when it's brutally cold here. To me that means production during the colder months is based more on feed and calories, than daylight. My hens have more energy to produce eggs right now instead of diverting energy to staying warm.

Feeding a correct diet with enough protein will help hens molt quickly and get back into production sooner. Hens need enough calories to cover all bodily functions first than egg production second. Another factor is available water, as well as it being a good temperature so it doesn't lower body temperature.

So I think other factors are more important for winter production than lights and lighting. So on that note, anyone need any eggs? My hens are already ramping up production even though they are mostly in a darken shed because the sun very seldom is out, and many don't want to go outside unless the sun is shining.

Light does play a role in birds and hormone levels, and thusly egg production, but it isn't as simple as running extra lights in my opinion. Birds also need correct feed, and water, and breeds and breeding play a big role too. I personally focus on doing what I can so my birds have the energy to keep up production on cold winter days.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are exceptions to practically everything said on here, I often have seen exceptions to behaviors I consider typical. It just works that way with living animals.

The way that chickens evolved was that they would lay a clutch of eggs, starting in spring when food became more readily available, hatch and raise that brood, then do it again. Their feathers would eventually wear out and need to be replaced. When the season had advanced enough that food was going to be scarce and raising chicks was going to get tough they would stop molting and replace their feathers. The trigger for this change was the nights getting longer. Technically it is not the day getting shorter that triggered this, it was the nights getting longer. This type of shedding body coverings as seasons change is pretty common in the animal kingdom and not just birds. I've noticed my dogs shed in the fall, I assume getting ready to grow their winter coat. I don't know what the dogs' trigger to do that is, the cooler days or the change in daylight. Nature has worked up a lot of natural cycles to achieve her goals. Not just body coverings but reproduction cycles also.

Light is a trigger for a lot of chicken behaviors. Light plays a part in telling a hen when to release a yolk to start an egg through her internal egg making factory so the egg is laid during the day and not at night. There are also other triggers to release that yolk, not all are light dependent. To prepare to lay a hen not laying has to make several changes to her body, get the plumbing set up correctly and grow the yolks to a proper size if you will. I've butchered enough pullets and hens in various stages of laying and not laying to appreciate that. A hen cannot turn on egg laying overnight, it takes a while to prepare internally.

When we domesticated chickens we messed with a lot of their natural cycles. We changed them from laying a clutch of eggs and going broody to often laying a lot of eggs and often not going broody at all. Some hens retain a lot of the original behaviors, some don't.

Before a hen starts to lay she builds up a certain amount of fat. The purpose is for her to use that energy to live off of if she goes broody. Even hens that will never go broody store up extra fat, most of it in a fat pad in the pelvic area but also in other areas. Some store up a lot more than others but I've never butchered a hen that was laying that did not have a fat pad. A hen that depends on foraging can have trouble building up that fat when forage is rare. Storing up fat is part of her natural cycle too. If she is fed a good diet she may have an excess of nutrients so she can build up more reserves and is more likely to lay eggs.

I agree that some hens can lay eggs during a molt, especially a mini-molt. The typical full molt is generally in the fall with the days getting shorter, typically they stop laying during this process. But the days getting shorter is not the only thing that can trigger a molt, especially a mini-molt. Many different kinds of stress can cause that. It could be running out of drinking water, a predator scare or actual attack, a change in pecking order, a change in housing, severe weather, or an extended period of egg laying without time off. Sometimes these things cause them to stop laying for a while without inducing a molt.

It certainly is possible that a hen can lay an egg during a molt. It is possible that a hen can go broody during winter. In my opinion and experience these are not standard typical behaviors but they can and do happen. In my opinion it is more likely if we provide extra lights, better food, and maybe even heat and it is more likely with production hens as opposed to decorative chickens. I try to not deal with absolutes when talking about living animals, there are always exceptions.

@Shadrach you are certainly entitled to your opinion. If you want to consider any or all of what I said an old wives tail that is certainly your privilege. Perhaps a more technically correct way to say this is that the vast majority of times a hen will stop laying when she molts and and use the nutrition that was making eggs to grow feathers, but as with all living animals there can be exceptions.

 

[Shadrach]

I really don't think subjective judgments, or personal experience have much place in such a debate these days.
There has been so much research put into egg production for both free range and battery egg production the anecdotal evidence isn't really applicable.
The hens egg laying cycle is governed by light levels. There is still some uncertainty regarding the influence of frequency and intensity.