Supplemental lighting with pullets

[Peter.J]

Hi All, not my first flock or coop but the first time i've wanted to try supplemental lighting;
I have 7 laying hens, and 16 pullets in my coop. I decided I wanted to try to get some eggs before spring from my laying hens so I decided to just give them 2 hours of extra light in the morning, only for one morning so far. Yesterday night I read that this can mess up the pullets and cause them to lay prematurely and cause injury to them, so I turned off the timer.... Hopefully I didn't start a molt with just one morning of light...
My main question is; if you can start pullets in the spring/summer when the days are already long, i would think that disproves the whole premature laying argument against artificial light. I read this on the Univ. of Nebraska website so it seems like a reliable source, but I just don't see how my providing light would be bad for pullets, when they get by just fine growing up at other times of the year.
Any thoughts/experience?
Thanks

 

[Welshies]

If you do use supplemental lighting keep in mind it will cause hens to stop laying earlier.

 

[Peter.J]

I have read that as one of the concerns. I've also read hitting them with 12hrs instead of 14-16 seems to help with production but not full bore laying. So I just gave them the 12hrs that one night and we actually got an egg today (although part of that could be just some newer layers settling down into the coop...)
We plan on having a rotating flock of about 30 birds so I'm not too worried about hen fatigue as eventually they may all end up in a soup pot as they are replaced by younger layers...

 

[AmazingRachel]

If you do use supplemental lighting keep in mind it will cause hens to stop laying earlier.

That's actually incorrect info.
Medically speaking, as long as the hens are getting the same nutrition, they will not prematurely stop laying or suffer any negative health consequences.
Hens are born with hundreds of thousands of eggs in their ovaries which would take multiple lives to deplete. It's old age that causes them to lay less.
I've spoken to multiple farmers and a vet about this.

 

[AmazingRachel]

How old are the pullets and what breed/s?
Artificial lighting is fine for pullets and since we just had the Winter Solstice, the amount of daylight is increasing naturally.
When you get the lighting installed, I would suggest increasing the lighting 20 minutes each week until you hit 12 hours and after that just let things (amount of sunlight) take their natural course. I would also suggest having the light come on in the early morning rather than after the sun sets because the birds can see/roost when the lighting suddenly turns off.

 

[Peter.J]

Hi Rachel, they are a mix of RIR, leghorns, buffs, australorp, and EE, all at around 12-14wks... Ok maybe i'll try a more gradual approach. I did have it in the morning but it gave 2hrs of light, so maybe i'll try starting with a 1/2hour extra every couple weeks (my timer only does q 30min...)
I just turned it off last night because i read that Univ. of Nebraska article saying it would cause the pullets to start laying before their body could handle it; but that just doesn't make sense to me...

 

[AmazingRachel]

Hi Rachel, they are a mix of RIR, leghorns, buffs, australorp, and EE, all at around 12-14wks... Ok maybe i'll try a more gradual approach. I did have it in the morning but it gave 2hrs of light, so maybe i'll try starting with a 1/2hour extra every couple weeks (my timer only does q 30min...)
I just turned it off last night because i read that Univ. of Nebraska article saying it would cause the pullets to start laying before their body could handle it; but that just doesn't make sense to me...

Yeah, that seems a bit too young to start with the lighting. I would say to start the lighting in about a month/4 weeks. On top of the young pullets' reproductive systems not being ready to go, you also have to keep in mind that it is winter and even though it's usda zone 7/8 where you are it's better to let them put on weight than focusing that energy on egg production (for the time being).

 

[Blooie]

If you do want to supplement light to stimulate laying - and many people do very successfully - you really should start it in the fall when the days are getting shorter. Waiting until the solstice is past and daylight will be increasing anyway is kind of counterproductive. The idea is to keep their little brains on that 12 -14 hours of light schedule all the way through the winter rather than just suddenly starting it when they are already geared for the natural cycle. (And yes, I know that true winter didn't start until a week or so ago, but by winter I mean the....well, the time when.....oh, you know what I mean! ) Anyway, I've read a lot of things about supplemental lighting shortening their laying lifetime as well, but that's not the reason I didn't use it. I simply decided (after trying it for my first year) that just day-to-day living, laying, molting, foraging and such all through the long days had to be taking something out of their little bodies, so if they wanted to rest up and take time to replenish what they'll need for another season, they deserved it. I didn't need a refrigerator full of eggs that badly!

Purely personal choice, and what's right for me isn't what's right for you or your flock! The only thing I would repeat is that in order to use supplemental lighting successfully it's best to start it early in the late fall and increase it gradually as the days get shorter. Just flipping on a switch in late December really won't gain you that much. Good luck!