Hens Have Stopped Laying Eggs!!!

[Bee-Key-Pur]

I think hens must have a light senser built into them somewhere because I haven't had a single egg from them for about 3 weeks now, since the nights have started drawing in.
Mine are all free range and my customers are driving me made coming up to the house and asking why we have no eggs for sale out the front!!!

My mate down the road farms his hens all indoors and he keeps the lights on well into the night and his hens are still laying well.

So I have been installing some lights in there night sheds to try and extend the daylight for them by a few hours with the lights and see if I can get them to come back into lay again.

Anyone had any luck with this method?

 

[The Cumbrian]

Somewhere in the back of my mind I feel the commercial guys keep them at 18hrs light year round.

 

[MuswellMetro]

I remember it being used on commercial chicken sheds with 16 light, 8 dark, and no natural daylight,

we tried it at home in the 60's and the chickens went physco and removed each other tail feather, told it was the sudden switch off at night

Tried again it by turning light on at 4:00am every morning...non physco chickens, more eggs but the Cockerel woke us at at 4.01am....nice Capon stew though

Do the modern Eco LED light work what level of light as you could set up a solar battery system with a couple of cheap solar light

better get chickens first though

 

[Brosville]

When we had a free-range egg farm we supplemented their light to give them a total 17 hours a day - it will keep them in lay following the summer months, but if there's been a break and they've gone off lay, you may have to wait a few weeks before they're back laying.
The caveat is that most commercial flocks are run from around week 18 to week 74 of their life, at which point they go for petfood as it's just not "commercial" to keep them while they have a rest and a moult and come back into lay - chooks will go on laying for some years, but they need that "rest" or they'll knacker out rather quickly - nowadays I keep a few bantams that are into their fourth year and who go on and off lay like a metronome, but stay healthy, provide all the eggs we need and eat very little "bought in" feed...

 

[porterswoods]

We give our hens 15 hours of light a day with simulated dusk and dawn lights. (lights come on in series from one side of the shed to the other.)

When we get the hens a week 16 they are on 10 hours of light, when they reach target weight we simulate them to lay by adding 1 hour of light per week, until they are at 15hours.

RSPCA Freedom Foods say that they should have at least 8 hours of dark. Their standards can foud at the link below.

http://content.www.rspca.org.uk/cmsprd/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobnocache=false&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1233000549557&ssbinary=true

If you can't do the simulated dawn and dusk then add light in the morning. Adding light that suddenly switches off doesn't give the birds a chance to settle for the night.

As Brosville says if you intend to keep them for any length of time it is best to let them moult in the winter, something the RSPCA prohibit. This gives them a rest and time to recover from the stressful period of egg laying.

 

[dano41]

Buy a timer cost about a fiver small economy bulb set time to come on at two in morning and off a nine in morning have done this successfully for last eight years our hens won't lay at all this time of year if I don't do this.Your right about the light sensor the laying is affected by light sensing through the pituitary gland in the eye.

 

[Hivemaker.]

As Brosville says if you intend to keep them for any length of time it is best to let them moult in the winter, something the RSPCA prohibit.

Do you get a fine then,or banned from keeping chickens if they find you have some that are moulting?

 

[Bee-Key-Pur]

Great advice guys, have now fitted the lights to a timmer and set it to come on at 2am and remain on until day light kicks in.

I will have to wait and see if they start laying again.

Thanks again all....

 

[porterswoods]

Do you get a fine then,or banned from keeping chickens if they find you have some that are moulting?

Natural molting is not technically against the codes of practice. Having said that natural moulting in a commercial unit is unlikely so the assumption would be that you have forced them.

If you have forced a moult, by witholding feed, then you will also be suspended from the Lion Code. Reducing light to induce moult takes too long, not feeding can induce molt within 2 weeks. This renders your eggs completly unsaleable.

It is not illegal to let them moult, but you with get suspended from the both RSPCA scheme and the Lion code. Considering that the supermarket will only buy RSPCA approved eggs and nobody buys non-lion eggs, there is a big incentive not to do it.

The lion code insists that you adhere to the Laying Hens - Code of Recomendantions for the welfare of livestock. It can be found here

 

[porterswoods]

I will have to wait and see if they start laying again.

Don't be surprised if it takes a few weeks.

 

[The Cumbrian]

Do you get a fine then,or banned from keeping chickens if they find you have some that are moulting?

 

[theeggman]

Have you used low energy bulbs in your lights?
They come on dim and brighten slowly which isn't such a shock to the girls.
Prior to retirement we swopped from 47x 40w bulbs to 9w low energy and as they were on 16hrs. a day the saving was considerable and they lasted a lot longer.

Tim

 

[Erichalfbee]

chooks will go on laying for some years, but they need that "rest" or they'll knacker out rather quickly - nowadays I keep a few bantams that are into their fourth year and who go on and off lay like a metronome, but stay healthy, provide all the eggs we need and eat very little "bought in" feed...

I have hybrids and pure breeds. The pure breeds stop in the winter but the hybrids go on, bar a month or so, all year and they are the ones whose laying tackle gets knackered early. I'm not that fussed about an egg supply all year and like to give them a rest.
Two of this years chicks are legbar x vorwerk. It will be interesting to see whether they lay like their mum or like their dad.....if he were a hen so to speak

 

[Bee-Key-Pur]

Have you used low energy bulbs in your lights?
They come on dim and brighten slowly which isn't such a shock to the girls.
Prior to retirement we swopped from 47x 40w bulbs to 9w low energy and as they were on 16hrs. a day the saving was considerable and they lasted a lot longer.

Tim

Yes, I fitted the low energy bulbs, I do try to save a few pennys if I can.

Thanks...

 

[boca]

The important point is not the length of the light period, but rather the increasing length and intensity of the daylight. They must believe it is spring.

It is cheap to use a timer to switch on and off the light.

It is simple to increase the length by half an hour every week. More complicated programs can be found on the net. ex. http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/poultry/publication/commegg/

 

[porterswoods]

The important point is not the length of the light period

I would disagree with that point. At 14 hours light we only manage to get to about 92-93% lay rate. At 15 hours we acheive 94-95%.

The intensity is also not that important. We have dimmers on all our lights and reduce or increase the light levels to combat feather pecking with no adverse impacts on egg production. I do agree that the key is to make them think spring has sprung followed by an never ending summer. Never reduce day length once it is increased.

I receive my pullets at week 16 and they are on 10 hours light a day and are not in lay. The lights in our shed are full on to help them find their way in new surroundings, they are like this for about 3 weeks. I add 1 hour a week to stimulate into lay. At 11 and 12 hours the is little or no production at 13 hours it increases to about 30% at 14-15 it can be 90-96%. This suggests that intensity plays no part in production but day length does.

This is easy to spot in a large flock but not so easy in backyard poultry. It can also be site specific. Other producers can acheive 95% on 14 hours, but we can't. Others can only get to 95% on 16 hours.

 

[dano41]

Porterswood always thought that intensity had very little to do with it, would be a nice experiment to try really low wattage, our chickens are only for ourselves we use 9 watt eco bulb, wouldn't be surprised if this could at least be halved.

 

[oliver90owner]

wouldn't be surprised if this could at least be halved.

Half the number of eggs, smaller eggs, half the number laying each day? P'raps they will just think it is moonlight? All good fun. You now need two hen coops/houses to compare one with t'other!

Actually, I would not like to bet against it already having been tried and tested!

RAB

 

[drstitson]

Give the poor girls a break. If you're going to keep in commercial conditions you might as well buy your eggs.

No-one needs eggs 24/7/365.

 

[Luminos]

Give the poor girls a break. If you're going to keep in commercial conditions you might as well buy your eggs.

No-one needs eggs 24/7/365.