Dew, one big reason to provide light is that when days get shorter, chickens molt and quit laying. They use the nutrients they were using for egg production to grow new feathers. If they don’t see the days get shorter, they don’t know it is fall and time to molt. It’s the days getting shorter that triggers the molt, not the number of hours of daylight. At your latitude, your longest days should be about 14-1/2 hours. You’ll probably be OK with 14 hours of light but people further from the equator may find their hens molt before the days get down to 14 hours long. Some chickens close to the equator never see 14 hours of daylight yet go through the same cycle. That 14 hours has become a magic number because that’s what commercial egg production operations use when they control all the light. It fits in with the way they feed them and manage them.
Some hens will go back to laying when they finish the molt but some wait until the days get longer in the spring to start laying again. Hens bred for production are more likely to lay after the molt is over regardless of whether light is provided or not. Decorative hens are more likely to wait until spring, but that will vary by the individual hen. They are all different. Somebody can always come up with an exception with one of their hens. I can with mine. But this would be another reason to add lights, get them to laying again after the molt.
Another thing about the molt. Some chickens are fast molters and some are slow molters. The fast molters will generally finish the molt in 3 months and get back to laying. These are the ones that drop a lot of the feathers and look really rough. Some hens take 6 or 7 months to finish the molt and get back to laying. These are the ones that always look pretty, no big loss of feathers. The slower they molt, the worse they are for production. It’s not about how fast the feathers grow back but how fast they fall out. The slow molters lose only a few feathers at a time while the fast molters can look almost bare. Some people panic when a hen loses practically all her feathers at one time and the weather is turning cold. Unless you are in truly brutally cold weather that’s not a problem. It’s extremely unlikely you’ll see that where you are.
It’s not at all unusual for pullets that start to lay in the summer or fall (or even late spring) to skip the molt their first year and continue laying throughout the winter, even without extra lights. Egg production can drop some with the shorter days but probably not a lot. I always keep some new pullets every year so I can get some winter eggs without using lights. That’s worked every year for me until last year when my pullets didn’t start to lay until they were 9 months old. Then they started early December on the shortest days of the year without extra lights. Those just didn’t read the rule book and do what they are supposed to do.
I can’t give you guarantees but I doubt you’ll need to add lights your first year to keep some and probably most of your production their first winter. After they get through that, they will almost absolutely certainly molt and quit laying the following fall.
The molting process is no just about replacing worn out feathers and getting fresh feathers for winter. It’s a time for the hen to recharge her system. She builds up her reserves of nutrients and just takes a vacation to prepare for another year of laying.
With lights and everything most hens will lay for about 11 to 12 months really well. Then production drops some and the quality of the egg may deteriorate. A lot of hens will go through a mini-molt about this time, stop laying for a while and grow a few new feathers. This is not a full-blown molt. This kind of recharges their system so they can limp along until fall and a full-blown molt. But expect reduced productivity during the time they are waiting for fall and that molt. Their body just gets worn out from continuous laying and they need a short vacation.
You can expect this from your pullets whether you provide extra lights or not and they lay through the winter. You might start seeing some funky eggs then, runny whites is a common one, and a drop in production. I expect to see a post from you next summer asking why production dropped in the middle of summer. It could be stress from excessive heat or it could be that they are just worn out and ready for a vacation.
That’s enough typing. I need to start on my pickles. Those cucumbers are demanding I do something with them today! Since yours are pullets you probably don’t need to add lights to get production this winter though it won’t hurt as long as you can do it without burning your coop down. Monty should be able to handle that. Just put the lights on a timer. And tell Monty to consider dust and dander build-up so the lights don’t short out. How much light do you need? If you can read a newspaper in there, you have enough.
Some hens will go back to laying when they finish the molt but some wait until the days get longer in the spring to start laying again. Hens bred for production are more likely to lay after the molt is over regardless of whether light is provided or not. Decorative hens are more likely to wait until spring, but that will vary by the individual hen. They are all different. Somebody can always come up with an exception with one of their hens. I can with mine. But this would be another reason to add lights, get them to laying again after the molt.
Another thing about the molt. Some chickens are fast molters and some are slow molters. The fast molters will generally finish the molt in 3 months and get back to laying. These are the ones that drop a lot of the feathers and look really rough. Some hens take 6 or 7 months to finish the molt and get back to laying. These are the ones that always look pretty, no big loss of feathers. The slower they molt, the worse they are for production. It’s not about how fast the feathers grow back but how fast they fall out. The slow molters lose only a few feathers at a time while the fast molters can look almost bare. Some people panic when a hen loses practically all her feathers at one time and the weather is turning cold. Unless you are in truly brutally cold weather that’s not a problem. It’s extremely unlikely you’ll see that where you are.
It’s not at all unusual for pullets that start to lay in the summer or fall (or even late spring) to skip the molt their first year and continue laying throughout the winter, even without extra lights. Egg production can drop some with the shorter days but probably not a lot. I always keep some new pullets every year so I can get some winter eggs without using lights. That’s worked every year for me until last year when my pullets didn’t start to lay until they were 9 months old. Then they started early December on the shortest days of the year without extra lights. Those just didn’t read the rule book and do what they are supposed to do.
I can’t give you guarantees but I doubt you’ll need to add lights your first year to keep some and probably most of your production their first winter. After they get through that, they will almost absolutely certainly molt and quit laying the following fall.
The molting process is no just about replacing worn out feathers and getting fresh feathers for winter. It’s a time for the hen to recharge her system. She builds up her reserves of nutrients and just takes a vacation to prepare for another year of laying.
With lights and everything most hens will lay for about 11 to 12 months really well. Then production drops some and the quality of the egg may deteriorate. A lot of hens will go through a mini-molt about this time, stop laying for a while and grow a few new feathers. This is not a full-blown molt. This kind of recharges their system so they can limp along until fall and a full-blown molt. But expect reduced productivity during the time they are waiting for fall and that molt. Their body just gets worn out from continuous laying and they need a short vacation.
You can expect this from your pullets whether you provide extra lights or not and they lay through the winter. You might start seeing some funky eggs then, runny whites is a common one, and a drop in production. I expect to see a post from you next summer asking why production dropped in the middle of summer. It could be stress from excessive heat or it could be that they are just worn out and ready for a vacation.
That’s enough typing. I need to start on my pickles. Those cucumbers are demanding I do something with them today! Since yours are pullets you probably don’t need to add lights to get production this winter though it won’t hurt as long as you can do it without burning your coop down. Monty should be able to handle that. Just put the lights on a timer. And tell Monty to consider dust and dander build-up so the lights don’t short out. How much light do you need? If you can read a newspaper in there, you have enough.
