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Wait, doesn't this throw a wrench into the whole factory farmed chicken thing where they keep the lights on for extra hours to have them lay more eggs. Here we are, saying it has little to do with light, and more to do with timing and body-readiness.
Chickenannie, this referring to when they start to lay, for the very first time, and under normal conditions, length of day does not have a lot to do with when a hen begins to lay for the very first time. Also a response to the mis-typed statement about them laying every 14 hours.
Battery hens, (concentration camp hens) are bred to lay as many eggs as possible, on as little feed as possible, and never brood. In a normal hens life, they slow down or stop at certain times of year due to molting, less light per day, and broody types knock off to brood and raise chicks. They may also consume more feed than a battery hen.
In a battery, lights are kept on and temperatures maintained so that hens lay at peak every day, and never take a day off. Those hens still normally only lay one egg a day. Hens that do not lay as required are culled and replaced. They are usually culled and replaced an a strict schedule anyway.
Ordinary chickens may or may not lay an egg every day. Some do. Some don't. Most of us don't get too upset if they regularly, even if it isn't quite daily.
Chickens don't need to have 14 hours of light every day to lay at all, they need 14 hours a day of light to lay at peak production.
This last week, I added additional light to my coop for the first time ever. After a week, I'm still getting the same low egg production as before. Natural light, they were getting about 8 hours a day, so I set the timer to come on about 4AM, so they're getting almost 13 hours of light. My hens are still molting, so I think I'll let them be for now. Maybe I'll try again after I'm pretty sure they're through molt. Usually mine pick back up just before winter Solstice, when the days are at the shortest, but it's when they finish molting. If they don't, maybe I'll try the light again and see what happens.
