lights on for your chickens

[milkmanles]

hi everybody. enjoying my girls and getting lots of eggs from them, but with the dark nights upon us i have heard somewhere that you need to put lights on in the coop. can anyone tell me why and when you have to do this. my girls usually lay in the mornings. any advice would be appreciated thanks mates.

[mothhawk]

Birds are seasonal breeders. Their bodies react to daylight length, so as the days lengthen (in spring) they start to lay eggs, until they are laying one per day during the long days of late spring and early summer.

When the days start to shorten again, egg production slows. I don't remember exactly, but I think it takes 12 to 14 hours of light for a hen to produce an egg, so when you only get, say, 8 hours of daylight, it will take two days to get one egg.

Most birds stop laying and sit on their eggs to hatch them, but hens have been bred over hundreds of years to discourage this trend of broodiness and continue laying as many days as possible. Some breeds do so more than others.

By providing artificial light you are fooling the hen's body into believing it is still spring, and forcing her to continue laying. This is why commercial egg producers only keep hens for about 3 years = continuous egg laying wears them out.

You will still get a few eggs over the winter if your hens are warm and well fed and content, without extra lighting, and your birds will live longer and be healthier.

[kathyd]

I don't know anyone who lights their coop - hey, my chickens already cost me more than a lifetime's worth of expensive organic shop-bought eggs, I'm not adding electricity to that as well! Lol . Seriously, I agree with mothawk - it's good to give them a break over the winter.

[Scarlet]

Yes, they really need a break. No lights here! Egg production will start to dwindle soon, they start moulting and their energy is needed to produce new feathers. Younger birds often lay during the winter but my lazy marans never have. I freeze my surplus summer eggs for baking and then use the fresh eggs for my lunch during the winter. That works for me.

[RichmondHens]

I don't put lights on for my birds (it would cost a fortune with the number I have) and agree with above advice. I too freeze surplus summer eggs for winter use although I am very crafty with managing my birds and by allowing the broody crew to go broody when they feel like it in the warmer months they reward me by laying in the winter.

If you want to push your birds a bit more then set lights to come on in the hen house an hour or two before dawn but be aware that once the birds wake up they will become active and if they can't get outside they will probably start boredom pecking unless you can light their outside area too. Allow them to go to roost at the end of the day as normal.

[milkmanles]

lights on for my girls

thanks everyone for the useful info regarding if you need to light the coop in the dark nights. learnt a lot with your views and answers. think ill just let them rest over the winter and look forward to next year. thanks mates

[bearded bloke]

Hello from a little bit north of you What Mothawk said pretty much covers it most on here view their chooks as pets & treat them as such I am pleased to note your response & hope you will get many years of happyness from each other

[bearded bloke]

Oh & while I have your attention,now is the time of the Virtual Vine Show wherein there are catagories for : Best plate of eggs & Fluffiest Bum (Chooks not Human) get yur camera out & join in the fun