To use lights or not to use lights?

[Beekissed]

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I don't think it has anything to do with less eating or less nutrition. Think melatonin:

The secretion of melatonin is stimulated by darkness. Melatonin influences the levels of certain reproductive hormones such as prolactin and luteinizing hormone,both of which are major reproductive hormones. Some authorities caution that it may reduce the sexual drive in men.
The natural production of melatonin by the pineal gland peaks at the age of only four or five years of age. Since a decrease in its production occurs during sexual maturation, researchers warn that taking it during adolescence may have a detrimental effect on puberty.
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Exposure to light during the night will inhibit melatonin production. Research results show that women who work night shifts have an increased risk of getting breast cancer; scientists are investigating whether this alteration in melatonin production may be linked to the development of cancer.

Hmmmm.....add light, decrease or inhibit melatonin to get more sexual maturation, or ovulation activity~ and get cancer..... Check!

The most well-known effect of melatonin is that it regulates the sleep cycle. Production of melatonin by the pineal gland increases with darkness. Increased melatonin levels, in turn, promote sleep.

So it does indeed give chickens more rest....go figure!

Check!

Melatonin has been shown to boost certain parts of the immune system. It boosts the activity of natural killer cells, a type of immune cell. It also prevents apoptosis, a type of destruction of T-lymphocytes, which are other important immune cells found in the bloodstream.

So NOT providing light, thereby NOT inhibiting melatonin uptake, will actually boost the immune system. Keeps chickens healthier...check!

So my laziness and thriftiness and carefree attitude towards chicken husbandry is all pretty darn healthy for my chickens? My need to keep things simple and natural is actually beneficial? Way cool!

 

[Oscgrr]

I'm not very qualified to weigh in on this question seeing that this is my first flock and they've just this past week began laying "practice" eggs but since I lurk here often, I want to contribute something even if it's not much. I have a light in the coop. It's not very bright, a little solar powered marker light, and it's a cool blue-ish color (not that color matters). My reason for putting a light in the coop wasn't to stimulate egg production but rather because when they were little I would go out to the coop after dark to shut them in and all eleven of them would be in a pile by the door to the run. They wouldn't go into the coop on their own. When I put the light in, that solved the problem. I suppose I could remove the light now but I kinda like that I can go out to count heads and don't need to bring a flashlight.

I don't think my little light is bright enough to deprive them of any sleep but I could be wrong. My guess is that the drawback might be that with more light they may tend to eat more and therefor go through more feed faster but it's cheap enough. The upside might be that I understand some predators may shun lighted areas and since the solar light kit came with three lights, the other two are pointed outside the coop, one at the coop door the other at the door to the run.

The chickens are shut tight into their coop at night but the run is only 2x3s with chicken wire. My understanding is that chicken wire won't deter predators. I live in a pretty rural area and there have been several sightings of coyotes, I can occasionally hear them, as close as the neighbors yard but I haven't seen any. Nothing without thumbs is getting into the coop (I hear racoons are pretty clever but I think I may have them stumped) but so far nothing has torn it's way into the run at night. That may change but I'll deal with that if and when it happens but my point is that maybe, just maybe, having a light in the run has deterred nocturnal predators.

 

[tuesdays chicks]

so what you're saying is people who sleep longer don't get sick or get cancer? well I don't really agree with that because I'm 1 of the healthiest people I know and I only get about 4-5 hours of sleep a night, can't say about the cancer because I'm a smoker, I don't think you can say that the cutback on proper nutrition isn't going to effect egg production I think the reason my hen is still laying is because she gets supplemental protein and calcium in her diet without added light even when molting.

 

[Beekissed]

I read an article once that stated an electric clock with digital numbers or even a lighted face near your bed at night could inhibit melatonin uptake.

I don't know if this matters or is merely anecdotal, but I have a niece who cannot sleep without the light being on....never has slept in the dark since she was a baby. She has some very strange hormonal problems and ovulation cycles.....used to only have one period per year, on her birthday.

She has other endocrine issues as well, so I'm wondering if this might be the problem.

Who knows? Hormones and their myriad shifts are all a mystery to me and to most scientists as well.

 

[Beekissed]

Quote:
I don't think you actually read the articles closely, did you? If that were the conclusion to that information, we would all be sleeping all the time so we could stay healthy and not get cancer!

That is not what was said, so generalizing in that manner is just being deliberately obtuse....and no one said that cutting back nutrition won't affect egg production. What was suggested that less daylight caused less eating, therefore less nutrition~which I don't really see in my chickens. If anything, they eat way more in the winter months than they do in the warmer ones.

Less daylight could also mean less activity, meaning less fuel burned, which could mean less intake is a normal reponse to a lesser need to fuel the machine.

Most folks who have laying hens give supplemental protein and calcium in their layer feeds all year round....my chickens even consume more of these feeds during winter months than they do in the peak laying months, when they are generally deriving most of their feed from foraging.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Quote:
There again, my 40 watt bulb in my 8 by 8 coop costs less than $1 a month. This is using .13/KWH with the light being on 5 hours a day at the darkest part of the year. So it costs maybe a real cheap dozen eggs to get many more. At the coldest time, this gives my girls more time to eat to keep their energy up. My bantams have a solar light in their tractor & they go in everynight and tank up at the feeder. There are many good reasons not to use lights, but cost isn't really one of them.

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
Only one thing--most of what you quote is conjecture plus, assuming it is true, just because it works for humans there is no proof it works for chickens.

 

[Beekissed]

True, but most mammals have similar or same hormonal activity, so it is a distinct possibility. Could explain the slow down in the winter. Anyone else have a more plausible explanation?

Here's some cool info on using lights for chickens:

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/poultryhousemanage.html

Birds need a dark period for good health. They only produce melatonin—a hormone important in immune function—during dark periods. Welfare programs usually require at least four to six hours of dark daily, with some of the organic programs requiring eight hours of darkness. (4) Many alternative poultry producers use only natural light and therefore have a long dark period. Dark periods can be especially helpful for fast-growing broilers in the first weeks of life to slow growth, build frame, and reduce leg disorders. (Baby chicks, however, need 24 hours of light the first three days to ensure that they learn to find food and water.) In contrast, the conventional poultry industry uses long light periods to encourage feed consumption and weight gain by fast-growing broilers, because birds do not eat in the dark. When birds have a dark period, they are more active during the light period than birds that have continuous light.

Light intensity is measured in foot-candles (fc) in the U.S. (the amount of light emitted by a standard candle at one foot away; lux is a metric measurement). For example, a brightly-lit store may be 100 fc while a home is usually 10 fc. (2) Alternative poultry production tends to use a higher light intensity than conventional. Most welfare programs require at least 1 fc. Light intensity above 1 fc leads to increased activity, which can reduce leg problems but results in decreased weight gains. (1) A curtain-sided house may have a light intensity of 200 fc or more when the sun is overhead, but depends on cloud cover. (1) The conventional industry typically keeps light intensity low in poultry houses to reduce activity and gain weight more efficiently. The conventional industry uses about 0.5 fc or less, similar to a moonlit night, for broilers and layers.

Both conventional and alternative egg producers use artificial lighting to stimulate production during days of declining natural light, resulting in a more constant supply of eggs. Small-scale producers often use 14 hours of light for layers. Generally the light period should not be longer than the longest day of the year. Day length should not be increased for young growing pullets or they will begin producing eggs too soon; likewise, day length should not be decreased for layers and breeders in production or they will stop producing eggs.

A quick search of the Google brings up article after article of scientific research on the effects of melatonin on chickens and other animals.

This site contains some great info on just what kind of light to use for your chickens and why....great site!​

 

[gaillardia]

Melatonin is a proven anti-oxidant. I have a friend who has done scientific studies for close to 20 years on this matter. She has also shown that melatonin is found in mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects.

Studies have shown that human females are at lower ovarian cancer risk when ovulation is supressed for long periods of time. I don't think that cancer is going to be an issue in the birds, but the amount of protein, calcium and energetic requirements required for an egg must put some stress on the birds. If they weren't so energetically costly for the hen to produce, they wouldn't be valuable to us. Maybe a break isn't a bad idea. And molting is not a break. Their bodies are going through a very costly activity, so lower egg production is because they can't spare the resources.

Our birds may have jungle fowl ancestors, but selective breeding has altered their natural state so that they can suit our purposes. The wild relatives do not produce eggs at the rate of our RIR or LH.

Interesting posts though. Personally, I am raising my birds because I find them interesting. Egg production was a secondary consideration, so I am not using artificial light. We don't want to spend the extra electricity, but I don't fault anyone using light because they want more eggs.

 

[chattykathy306]

WHat kind of timer do you use for your light? I just bought a photoelectric timer, hoping to use it for a couple of hours before dawn, but it appears it only goes on at dusk. I hadn't planned to give them light at night. I am new to this, so appreciate any advice!