Solar Lights Helping My Chickens Lay?

[Chas Hathaway]

My two naked-neck chickens were laying pretty consistently every day until about 6 weeks ago. I thought they stopped because of winter, but it was about 6 weeks ago I moved their coop a few yards, too. Then last week I discovered that their $1 solar light that I'd had in their coop wasn't there—it had apparently fallen out in the move. So I found it and put it back in, and now they've laid an egg a day for the past three days.

Could a $1 solar light make all that difference?

P.S. Please say yes... this is such a ridiculously easy solution if does make that much difference.

 

[enoryz]

I don't have a lot of experience with this. Only stuff I've read. It does say that a light helps for laying through the winter months. I personally haven't had a flock laying in winter yet. I have a red sex link that starting laying about a week and a half ago and hasn't missed a day yet. 2 buff orpingons laying now and hasn't stopped yet. the rest didn't start laying yet. I do have a 7 1/2 watt bulb in the coop that I unplug sometimes and leave on other days. Not sure if that is making a difference like in your case.

 

[aart]

My two naked-neck chickens were laying pretty consistently every day until about 6 weeks ago. I thought they stopped because of winter, but it was about 6 weeks ago I moved their coop a few yards, too. Then last week I discovered that their $1 solar light that I'd had in their coop wasn't there—it had apparently fallen out in the move. So I found it and put it back in, and now they've laid an egg a day for the past three days.

Could a $1 solar light make all that difference?

P.S. Please say yes... this is such a ridiculously easy solution if does make that much difference.

Welcome to BYC!

It's not quite that simple...
...but adding the light back could have something to do with it.

How old are your birds?

Here's a pretty good article on supplemental lighting.

 

[Chas Hathaway]

They are both under a year. They were born in April, so they're 8 months old.

 

[Fairview01]

So hatched in April means they had completed all their juvenile molts by October/November and they are ready to lay. And they will lay sporadically throughout winter. A moving train is hard to stop however to be consistently laying a certain amount of light needs to enter their eye after laying to start the process again. Because of the shorter days in winter they rarely get enough light on the same day they lay an egg to restart the assembly line the same day so it's not until the next day.

I have 16 hens hatched April 11. Going into fall I was getting four eggs a day. I added lights and now I average 12 eggs +/- every day. Marans don't lay but about 3 eggs a week but when they get synchronized with the white Plymouth rocks, I get a full 16 that day.

 

[Ashley McDaniel]

The lighting has everything to do with laying in the winter in my experience. I thought that they stopped laying due to winter also, but after doing some research I found that it wasn't the cold, it was the daylight hours being shortened. I moved our garage light into the coop and my girls are back to laying big brown eggs 5 days a week. So, I'm convinced that it's from adding the light to their coop. I turn it off around 8, then turn it on at 5 every morning. Hope this helps!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

They are both under a year. They were born in April, so they're 8 months old.

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Because of the shorter days in winter they rarely get enough light on the same day they lay an egg to restart the assembly line the same day so it's not until the next day.

Well, there is a back up of eggs that have already started forming.. isn't there?

I have 16 hens hatched April 11

They are still pullets. The terms hen, rooster, and cock are reserved for bird over 1 year old. Just as technical info in case you didn't know that. I know at my house we still use those terms sometimes even though we know it isn't accurate.

Also the 21st was the shortest day of the year and we are heading back into longer days.

In MY experience, the shortened days of winter may SLOW down the current years pullets... but NOT stop them completely. I'm at the California/Oregon border and DON'T provide extra light. In Louisiana you should be getting more light than me. Some of my girls who molted have already returned to lay!

There are MANY things that effect laying. The move may have upset them a little as they are creatures of habit and anything out of the ordinary CAN have a profound effect. But should NOT have taken 6 weeks. Maybe there was a late night predator visit. And nutrition is KEY! What are you feeding including treats and supplements?

Also the light may have had more of an effect than I'm used to since they had it for a while and then it SUDDENLY stopped. That's a change in routine and light hours plus a move all on the same day!

One way to combat the winter lull in production is by adding a couple pullets every spring. Even if you provide extra light for your ladies in their second year (winter season), they WILL still molt.. at which time they won't lay eggs for at least a couple months. Alternatively, you can stock pile eggs next year. Unwashed eggs in my fridge have lasted more than 6 months in the past and still been equally as good as store bought eggs. Plus there are methods of freezing or dehydrating if needed.

One final suggestion.. having different breeds also helps to combat everybody molting at the same time, though there will be individual differences still among the same breed.

Turken should not lay daily as they are a dual purpose (dp) breed. Many new layers will lay very prolifically when they first start and then have to take a short break. Had some DP birds lay 21 days in row, 1 day off, another 21 in a row, 1 day off, 15 or so and then a couple weeks off. That was when I lived in Southern Ca. Chickens are whack and they don't care about "rules".

Hope this helps.

 

[Fairview01]

Hi, welcome to BYC!


Well, there is a back up of eggs that have already started forming.. isn't there?


They are still pullets. The terms hen, rooster, and cock are reserved for bird over 1 year old. Just as technical info in case you didn't know that. I know at my house we still use those terms sometimes even though we know it isn't accurate.

Also the 21st was the shortest day of the year and we are heading back into longer days.

In MY experience, the shortened days of winter may SLOW down the current years pullets... but NOT stop them completely. I'm at the California/Oregon border and DON'T provide extra light. In Louisiana you should be getting more light than me. Some of my girls who molted have already returned to lay!

There are MANY things that effect laying. The move may have upset them a little as they are creatures of habit and anything out of the ordinary CAN have a profound effect. But should NOT have taken 6 weeks. Maybe there was a late night predator visit. And nutrition is KEY! What are you feeding including treats and supplements?

Also the light may have had more of an effect than I'm used to since they had it for a while and then it SUDDENLY stopped. That's a change in routine and light hours plus a move all on the same day!

One way to combat the winter lull in production is by adding a couple pullets every spring. Even if you provide extra light for your ladies in their second year (winter season), they WILL still molt.. at which time they won't lay eggs for at least a couple months. Alternatively, you can stock pile eggs next year. Unwashed eggs in my fridge have lasted more than 6 months in the past and still been equally as good as store bought eggs. Plus there are methods of freezing or dehydrating if needed.

One final suggestion.. having different breeds also helps to combat everybody molting at the same time, though there will be individual differences still among the same breed.

Turken should not lay daily as they are a dual purpose (dp) breed. Many new layers will lay very prolifically when they first start and then have to take a short break. Had some DP birds lay 21 days in row, 1 day off, another 21 in a row, 1 day off, 15 or so and then a couple weeks off. That was when I lived in Southern Ca. Chickens are whack and they don't care about "rules".

Hope this helps.

I found this interesting about egg laying. I read that hens have a certain amount of ova. Obviously different for each bird but once the proverbial gas tank is empty there is no refill available. They don't make more ova.

How I understand the egg laying process is that until a certain period of light enters the eye there is no trigger to release the ova from the ovary. There isn't a backlog of developing eggs just dormant ovas waiting to be released from the ovary into the egg laying process.

To me stockpiling eggs for winter is like waiting for our fresh eggs to get old so we can peel them easier as hard boiled eggs. What's the point of going to all the trouble. I try to have staggered hatches from February to April. The pullets start laying in fall just when last year's pullets are going into molt. If I time it just right I can process last years layers before molt while the new pullets have already started laying. I use a led shop light in the coop on a timer for 3.5 hours. The monthly cost of that electricity is probably less than the amount of coffee I drink in a week.

Nobody seems to have informed my white Plymouth rocks they shouldn't be laying everyday. They are insane egg laying machines.

 

[Welshies]

Be aware that giving your chickens a winter light will wear them out faster. They need time to rest.

 

[junebuggena]

It's kind of pointless to add supplemental lighting at this point in the year anyways. We are already past the solstice and days are getting a bit longer everyday now naturally.