Waiting for supplemental light to do it's job

[BroosterSpringsteen]

I'm not sure why, but my chickens take off about 5-6 months every year from laying. I think it's because we live in a valley, with tall mountains on each side, reducing the amount of daylight. This year I finally got fed up, and added light. In order to get 14 hours, I had to set the timer to have the light come on at 2:30am....which means my rooster crows now at 2:30am

I might not be the most popular gal in the neighborhood.

Anyway, I added the light 10 days ago, and so far there's not any sign they're interested in laying. They're not molting. They finished their molt about a month ago. How long does this usually take? Could it be I added the wrong kind of light? It's a warm-toned compact fluorescent bulb.

 

[aart]

I think it takes weeks rather than days for added light to make a change. I added mine back in October and slowly ramped it up to 14 hours. As long as it's white light and bright enough to read a newspaper on the roost, I think compact fluorescent is OK. I've read that flourescent tubes flicker in a way that bothers chickens.

Here's a good article on supplemental lighting.