Will adding light help my Pullets?

[Tomfieldenloveshichickens]

My chickens haven't laid any eggs yet and I am thinking of adding lights to the coop. It is winter over here in England so would adding light to my 26 week old RIR get them laying. Does it only affect chickens that are laying?

Thanks

Tom

 

[maurerwerks]

I keep seeing this topic and thought I'd chime in with one thought about it. While artificially extending the day for the chickens may encourage laying, it also actually extends the time that the chickens are off the roost. In the winter when it's cold (and I don't know how cold Somerset, UK gets) one of the ways that they combat that cold is going to roost when it's dark. I'm really against heating a coop for lots of reasons and I would think that extending their day when it's cold might lead to it's own problems. Just my opinion.

 

[swimmer]

I added light to my coop a few weeks before they started to lay. Just a wild guess when I thought they would start. I think they were around 23 weeks or so. I have the light come on around 4 a.m. and off when the sun comes up. Around 7:30 a.m. I wanted eggs, so I tried adding light. It's a touchy subject for some people. It's just a matter of preference. I don't heat my coop either. Just figure the know how to stay warm when it's dark or light out.

 

[math ace]

I have lights on in my coop and there are days when I only get 2 eggs.

I have some speckled sussex that are just now starting to lay and they were hatched back in APRIL! That is 7 - 8 months waiting on the eggs. . .

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
It goes both ways. They need a lot of energy to stay warm. They aren't necessarily getting all of the energy they need if they have eight hours to eat and are then spending 16 hours on the roost.