Run Lighting

[David61]

Food for thought.
I'm new to birds as well. I got my chicks last week of July. I got my first egg Dec 21 and my second of ten birds laid her first egg last week. I see an egg in you future in the next two or three weeks.
I added light back in Sept for about 6 days so the girls could see to get on the roost. They were waiting to long to move out of the bottom of the run and the roosting box was dark. A few days with a night light and no more problems. Until a few weeks ago. My layer couldn't see to get off the roost or see into the nest box. I had cracked eggs on the poop board. I added low light so she could find the nest. She wants to lay /does lay in between 06:00-06:20. Sun up is 6:50. My second girl lays around 9am.
From what little I know and the many things I do know I see this about "adding light". Egg production slows or stops altogether for the molt. Being hatched mid to late summer, Young sexually immature birds are not hormone driven. The light change in the fall drives hormones so they molt. Adding light puts off the drive to molt aka hormones drives . adding light to young birds that did not molt makes no sense to me. Adding light in the fall to put off the molt and keep up production does.
Fall is over and winter has turned. Forget about light until next fall if that.

 

[aart]

Egg production slows or stops altogether for the molt.

Egg production slows/stops because of the shortening days...
...molting happens around the same time but they are not directly connected except that a molting bird most likely won't be laying.

 

[Fairview01]

@David61 Mid to late summer hatched chicks generally will start laying eggs sporadically even without light. More with light. Once their egg laying equipment matures it hard not for it to make an egg now and again during short days. Timing a hatch or 2 for mid summer ensures a constant supply of eggs throughout the year.