Who here uses artificial lighting for their chickens?

[big brown horse]

Trying to do things naturally here and I was just wondering if it is "good" for your chickens to keep them awake longer artificially so you can squeeze every last egg out of them year round. What would Joel Salatin do?

 

[ksalvagno]

I have lights on a timer in my chicken coop. They come on at 5:30am, go off at 8:30am then come back on at 5pm and go off at 8pm. I found I was already getting less eggs and my chickens were only just starting to lay.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

we're like Motel 6... we leave the light on for them.

seriously, we dont see a huge impact on them. feed 'em good and they should be fine. and since we live in the Arctic Tundra, also known as Ohio in winter, the light helps keep them warm.

right now we leave the lights on until we go to bed - which is now past time.... so i need to head out and 'turn off the chickens' but the weather determines how late we keep it on.

i'd rather have them be warm and 'frost free' than cold and frost bitten...thats our primary motivation. we keep the light on all nite when it gets below 15* or 20* at nite.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Trying to do things naturally here and I was just wondering if it is "good" for your chickens to keep them awake longer artificially so you can squeeze every last egg out of them year round. What would Joel Salatin do?

It depends. If I'm wanting hatching eggs, I'll move a group into the barn and place them on a timer. Normally I don't.

As for "what would Joel Salatin do?", since he sells his eggs, I'm sure he doesn't feed unproductive birds, so he may raise new hens every 1-2 year and swap them out. First year pullets aren't quite as effected by lighty change. Shoot Polyface farms an email and ask what they do, if you want to know.

 

[me&thegals]

What would Joel Salatin do?

So THAT'S what "WWJD?" stands for!!

We had them on full lighting last year. That made me feel bad, so we got a timer this year and set it so that they have 12 hours of light, 12 hours of dark. Otherwise, their winter room is very, very dark most of the winter. They still have full access to outdoors and are spending most of their time out there, but our daylight is about 7-5 these days.

 

[freemotion]

I no longer waste the electricity, since in a tiny flock it didn't really make a huge difference. We adjust how many we eat when they are laying less. If we really needed more eggs and didn't want more hens, I might put the light back on for them.

I've put mares under lights on a timer to get them to cycle for earlier spring breeding. We stopped doing that because winter babies were just too hard on everyone, and it is so nice to have the babies outside in good weather and not locked up in a stall. They catch up anyways.

I read somewhere that if you don't leave lights on, you will get about the same amount of eggs out of the hen over about three years' time. Just not as a steady supply, but more in spurts.

 

[FarmerChick]

we have about 200 layers

no lights ever

 

[big brown horse]

Thanks for the input. The weather is mostly mild here in my neck of the woods, so I won't need it for heat.

I am planning a new coop soon and need to know if I should wire it for electricity or not.

 

[freemotion]

I didn't wire my little barn the first year, to save some money. Boy, was I ready for lights by the time I got them!

Did you know that you will salivate a LOT in the time it takes to clean a stall after dark with a small flashlight in your mouth????

 

[FarmerChick]

oh I don't give light to the birds for laying etc.

but my barns have electricity for lights for me to see at night.