Cube Mark One Run

[ChrisEllis]

Hi.

 

I hear a lot about people using lighting and different ways of making their chickens lay throughout the year.

 

What sort of things would i need to do to make ours lay through the year?? I know many people dont like doing this...but id like to give it a try so i can hatch some chickens before spring starts.

 

Ive heard about people using protein and layers mash etc. and lighting...can anyone suggest anything?

[Powerlady]

Of course it's your choice...but don't you think the little girls deserve a bit of a break?

[ChrisEllis]

Well...Yh, I mean...cut their break a bit short...nothing drastic...just a month early. What would i do to make them start laying again??

[Egluntyne]

Don't forget that your roosters won't be in the peak of fertility at this time of year. I'd wait till Spring if I were you.

[ChrisEllis]

Oh i hadnt thought of that. What months would they be in peak????

[Egluntyne]

Like hens, they are affected by the length of daylight hours, so their fertility will start to improve in Spring.

[ChrisEllis]

What if i used artificial lighting...make their days longer??

[Powerlady]

They do that in battery farms to force them to lay..not a nice thing to really!

[ChrisEllis]

Except its a bit different now...im only doing it a month in advance to when they would lay. and they are well kept.

[Redwing]

A break is good for them but shortening that slightly isnt the end of the world and very common amongst poultry breeders

 

The chooks day can be extended with the use of a light and timer - add a bit of time every few days to gradually make the day longer

 

Make sure any outdoor electrics are properly installed

 

Hatching before spring means that you will need indoor rearing space and plenty of it as the chicks will be in for far longer, my first chicks hatched in Feb this year and didnt go outside full time till May

 

Also bear in mind that the chicks dont tend to grow as strongly over winter

 

As Egluntyne says the cock birds fertility will be greatly reduced at this time of year too, he'll need extra light too but even that may not help much - he will be waiting for that spring sunshine!

 

Large fowl breeders will start hatching early to ensure that their chooks are at a good size before the weather turns cold and are optimum size for showing but with bantams there isnt a great deal to be gained - an April hatched chick will quickly catch up with one hatched six weeks earlier

 

If you start using the extra light in Feb with a view to hatching in March that would be fine, you could try Jan/Feb but that probably wouldnt be anywhere near as sucessful - I think my Feb hatch was four chicks out of about 20 eggs

[ChrisEllis]

Perfect, thank you very much...as for lighting...could you send me a link of what i would need??? A bit confused on lighting etc...your help much appreciated

[Chicken shack]

Whats the hurry. Let nature do its own thing.

[bevmatt]

I will bring my 'breeding birds' inside In January. I give them 12 hours light a day and usually they are laying within a couple of weeks. I need to do this so that the eggs go into incubator January hatch Feb and then the youngsters will be 6 months mid summer - ready for a lovely summer outside.

I would warn you though - we have quite a lot of space inside for the birds and it takes a lot of time and effort keeping them warm and clean. Especially if you are planning a few hatches during this time.

As for giving the birds a break from laying- my breeding birds tend to stop laying about mid September when they go through their moult so they have a break for a few months then anyway.

Once I have enough eggs - so perhaps after a couple of months I just reduce the light until they are back to natural light and so far not had a problem.

My birds certainly don't look stressed with what I do - in fact they look really well on it... comfy and cosy 'spring time' in the stable versus wet and windy outside.

I never keep them in lay with light all the year around and I do think it is good for them to have a natural rest - moulting time.

Good luck with your hatching just make sure you have the room to rear them after they have hatched.

Bev

[ChrisEllis]

I have thought a lot of speeding up them laying eggs again...and i was wondering if this set up would work...I make a sheet of the time i turn the light of...to bring them forward a month or so...so i know what times to turn the lights off each day...and i thought i could put a solar light in the coop...with the solar panel on the roof...and then when it came to night time i just turn off the solar light...or is this light the not sort of light useable??

[chickyhazel]

Chickens will only lay a certain amount of eggs during their lives. When they are born, this amount is pre-programmed - they can only physically lay a certain amount. Therefore, if you bring chickens into lay early, they will lay less later on. I would just let them lay when they should lay!

[chick wiggle]

I understand how tempting it could be to bring on laying when most people seem to be in the middle of an egg drought.

I agree with Chickyhazel however, to just let nature run its course, i believe you will have much happier chickens that way

[Space Chick]

I agree with what others have said, adding artificial light to promote laying is just one step away from battery farming in my humble opinion.

[sparkysmum]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh how should I put this, chickens need a break from laying, this is why they don't lay in the winter months. Unless your hens are egg laying hybrids I would skip the lighting and just let them do their own thing. May I ask why you are so anxious for your hens to lay If it is for eggs for the table their are good free range eggs eg Waitrose organic free range. Sorry

[megalin]

Mmmmm yes, I agree. Waitrose really do do the best eggs though.... Not their own brand

but Clarence Court (old cotswold legbars or the burford browns) yummy yummy, best shop bought ones you can get

(that I've tried!) Oh Morrisons do them too actually...

The little ladies have enough hormone disruption, I'd say just enjoy their company until spring. Or get some hybrids.

[Mollie333]

It would be worth waiting. Like Redwing said, the chicks don't grow as strongly over winter.

[Lewis]

I can see why you want to bring it forwards but might be inclined to wait, especially as yours are little polands and so maybe less hardy at growing in these cold + wet months.

An important thing is that you build the number of hours up gradually, rather than putting a light on in the coop for 14 hours. If you were to do it, slowly build up the hours to stimulate the build up of hours, like you get naturally in the spring.

 

Our quail were in the side passage last winter and so any lights on in the house would mean they could see them on through the window ... the result, we still got a odd eggs over the winter.

 

Battery sheds will have artificial lighting, but so do free range systems...