When to add light for the shorter days?

[Katy9532]

We are wanting to add a light on a timer for the winter in hopes we will get eggs all year long. So far it has been getting dark at about 7pm, but the chickens have not stopped laying. I am concerned this weekend after the time change they may stop laying. So when do we know when to add the light?

 

[TurtlePowerTrav]

I have mine come on at 5:30am and off at 8am. I don't use it at night so they aren't caught off roost when the light goes off.

 

[Fred's Hens]

The sun itself doesn't "respect" the human invention of Daylight Savings Time and the chickens don't either. We may change our clocks on Saturday night, but nothing really happens in the cosmos. The sun will shine the same hours, minus a minute or two, tomorrow as it did today. LOL.

First year pullets generally lay pretty well their first winter with little supplemental light required. Older birds will moult their second Autumn and take a month or more off to re-charge their batteries. Adding supplemental lighting, if it is to be done, is best added, on a timer, to the pre-dawn period. Just an hour or two will keep them going just fine.

 

[bugkiller]

I put mine on last week. have it come on at 6 am off at 8 and on again at 6 and off at 10. Did this last winter and both my birds laied almost every day all winter long. i keep the light on untill there is at least 14 hrs of day light. some people say this is a bad practice but it works for me. i have a small coop with just 2 birds. they have never had a problem finding the roostwhen the light goes out.and with only 2 birds if laying slows down i run out of eggs. If you want to wait as long as posible than just wait untill laying slows down. it will only take a couple days for them to go back to full production when you put the light on but personally i would make sure they have at least 14 hrs of light per day.

 

[Katy9532]

We finally broke down and added a little lamp with a dim watt bulb, as we thought they had quit laying all but maybe one a day. Then we found the mother load!!!! 14.

If nothing else, we found the hiding spot!!!!!