Need light during day???

[Wyogirl]

My hens have taken a LONG break from egg laying ~2 1/2 months. I put a light on a timer comes on at 3:30 AM and off at 8AM. Should I leave it on during the day as they tend to stay in the house because of snow and it's not that light in there?
Ayda

 

[chicmom]

I am not understand the 3:30 am to 8:30 am.......My coops are lighted from 6:30 am to 8:30 pm.......Like they would be if it was summertime. I think that would help you.

 

[aoxa]

Do you have windows in your coop?

I leave my light on during the day in their run. - the run is the garage. The coop has no windows and the lights stay off. If you have windows and it is just dim, I would say leave it be. If it has no windows and you can not read a paper in it (test this out), than I would keep the light on. I use energy efficient bulbs.

 

[onawhimfarm]

I found the same info. To light the coop from 2 am to normal light, then let them get the normal dusk. It has seemed to help my chickens start laying again. I keep the light on till 5 pm since it is dark in the coop. I'm new to chickens... just got them in July of 2011.

 

[Wyogirl]

I had read somewhere here to add supplemental light , and to add it in the morning hours, so added it at 3:30 -8AM . My window faces north here so no extra sunlight, will have my DH move it this summer. I will try the newspaper reading today and see. I think I will leave it on till 5pm then off until 3:30AM and keep track of my egg production.
Thanks for the input
Ayda

 

[bobbi-j]

When we built our coop, we built it with south-facing windows specifically for the light. My timer is on from 2am - 8am. Just started that last week and have gone from no eggs in 2-3 months to 4 eggs both yesterday and today. I guess if your coop is dark during the day, you should keep the light on if you want egg production.

 

[daddy_roo]

I have heard of needing 14 hours of daylight but as far as lighting my girls are on the natural schedule.

 

[mrsteiner]

Since I'm fairly new to chicken raising, I've been experimenting with supplementary light this fall. My hens stopped laying in late September. It took several weeks but they started picking up again when I added a light on a timer in the morning. Like yours, mine comes on at 3:30 and goes off at 8:30 in the morning. This helped a lot and their laying began to pick up. But when I also added an hour of light at dusk, their production doubled within about four days. This is totally unscientific, I don't know if it was the added light or just a coincidence, but I'm pretty happy with the results.

My coop has two windows one each on the east and west sides, but on overcast days the coop is still too dark. I leave the light on all day when it's cloudy outside.

 

[Fred's Hens]

It's scientific. Chickens are photo-reactive. Adding lighting in the dark of fall/winter "fools" their retina receptors into continuing to ovulate. That said, I've never believed it necessary to light hens, especially first year pullets, 14 hours a day, as if that were somehow a truism that descended from Mt Sinai. Chickens nearer the equator lay very well and never get 14 hours daylight.

Our pullets are laying up a storm with only a couple of additional hours supplemented in the pre-dawn hours. Their total light is only 11-12 hours.

 

[Wyogirl]

Total of 8 eggs today!!!! Am so excitede Went ahead and added light all day , from 3:30AM -8PM, 13 watt CFL and so far seems to be working or????. Well I'm gonna keep telling myself that it's the added light, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Ayda