How much light do chickens need to lay eggs

Q: What kind of light do chickens need to lay eggs?

A nine-watt compact fluorescent bulb is all thats needed for a typical backyard coop. Plug the light into a timer and have it come on early enough in the morning to give the birds 15 hours of daylight, and egg production will be improved through the shorter days of winter.

Q: Does a light make chickens lay more eggs?

A hens ovary is stimulated to produce eggs by the many glands that comprise her endocrine system and the endocrine system is stimulated by light. Adding supplemental light inside the coop can trigger a hens endocrine system into action, allowing her to produce eggs as it did in the spring and summer months.

Q: Should chickens have a light on in their coop at night?

light your coop in the evenings. Chickens cant see well in the dark. Having a light that goes on at dusk and off in the middle of the night, plunging them into sudden darkness, will create anxiety and, potentially, injury as chickens try to find their roost.

Winter’s extreme cold can certainly reduce egg production. But darkness is the main reason production begins to slow in late fall.

Table of Contents Show

Pineal Gland
Artificial Light
Considerations
What kind of light do chickens need to lay eggs?
Does a light make chickens lay more eggs?
Should chickens have a light on in their coop at night?
Does it need to be dark for chickens to lay eggs?

Research shows that chickens lay best when they receive about 15 hours of light daily. In the northern United States, natural daylight drops to under nine hours at the end of December. To optimize egg production, supplemental (or artificial) lighting in the coop is a must for the next three to four months until the days get longer.

Setting up a simple light, controlled by a timer, solves the problem of waning sunlight. The same silver reflector lamps used for brooding chicks work well for winter light. A nine-watt compact fluorescent bulb is all that’s needed for a typical backyard coop. Plug the light into a timer and have it come on early enough in the morning to give the birds 15 hours of daylight, and egg production will be improved through the shorter days of winter.

Where to Place Lamps?

The distribution of light depends on lamp placement. Place lamps so that maximum illumination is spread over the largest area. In other words, don’t just light the nest box. Hang a bulb or lamp at the top of the coop to spread the light. Also, beware of dirty lamps. They can decrease light output by as much as 15 to 20 percent, so clean lamps at least once a week.

Other Tips for Winterizing Your Flock

Be certain to have a supply of fresh water; heated waterers save time and labor and assure the birds will always be able to drink
Make sure a high quality layer ration like NatureWise or Country Feeds is always available. Your chickens need to eat to enough to stay warm and maintain egg production.
Check that the coop is free from drafts, but don’t compromise ventilation as excessive moisture in the coop can lead to health problems.
Put a little extra scratch grain down for your chickens morning and afternoon. The treat will keep winter birds busy pecking and scratching for hours and will help prevent boredom and give them some extra energy for warmth.
With the chickens spending more time in the coop, bedding may become damp. Remove and replace as needed, or on a warmer day. Clean and dry bedding will also help the chickens stay warm and keep odors down.
Let the chickens out into their run as chickens enjoy going outside, even if it’s cold, but most don’t like to walk on snow or in the rain.

With a little extra light and a little extra attention, your chickens will keep up their winter egg production and before you know it, it will be spring!

If your hens decrease their egg production, fall is probably in the air. Hens need a certain amount of daylight in order to maintain peak egg laying. Even an hour or two less of daylight changes egg laying patterns. If you want fresh eggs year-round, you can fool Mother Nature by installing lighting in your chicken coop.

Sunlight

In order to consistently lay eggs, hens need about 16 hours of daylight and 8 hours of darkness when they're roosting. Once less than 12 hours of daylight is available, egg productions slows down considerably if not ceases completely. Although you might think colder weather causes the decrease in egg-laying, that's not the case. Even chickens in warm climates produce fewer eggs once the daylight hours decline.

Pineal Gland

The hen's pineal gland, part of her endocrine system, sits above her midbrain, behind the eyes. This gland produces melatonin, which helps regulate sleep and other body functions. As the days lengthen, her pineal gland responds by sending a hormone through her body to her ovary to start producing eggs. As the days shorten, the pineal gland stops sending this hormone. Since the gland is light-sensitive, you can fool it by increasing the amount of light available to the hen during the fall and winter.

Artificial Light

As a general rule, a 40-watt bulb for each 100 square feet of henhouse should suffice to keep hens laying year-round. Use incandescent bulbs rather than florescent lights, as the wavelengths of incandescent bulbs are closer to those of natural sunlight. Put the bulb on a timer so it goes on in the dark hours of the morning rather than at nighttime. Set the timer so that hens have only eight hours of darkness. For example, if the sun sets at 5 p.m., set the timer so that the light goes on at 2 a.m.

Considerations

Perhaps you're someone who took up chicken-keeping as a way to get back to a more off-the-land lifestyle. For hens, it's natural to lay many eggs in spring and summer and decrease output once autumn arrives. They start up again in spring. Some hens, especially young ones, produce eggs regularly or sporadically throughout the winter. Each hen can produce only so many eggs in her lifetime before she's a "spent hen." The amount varies by breed and individual chicken.

References

Purina Mills: Laying Hens
poultrykeeper.com: Light for Laying Chickens
Louisiana State University Ag Center: Why Hens Stop Laying Eggs
The Old Farmer's Almanac: Raising Chickens 101 - When Chickens Stop Laying Eggs
Rooster Hill Farms: Common Problems
PoultryHub: Endocrine System

Photo Credits

Jupiterimages/BananaStock/Getty Images

Writer Bio

Jane Meggitt has been a writer for more than 20 years. In addition to reporting for a major newspaper chain, she has been published in "Horse News," "Suburban Classic," "Hoof Beats," "Equine Journal" and other publications. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English from New York University and an Associate of Arts from the American Academy of Dramatics Arts, New York City.

What kind of light do chickens need to lay eggs?

A nine-watt compact fluorescent bulb is all that's needed for a typical backyard coop. Plug the light into a timer and have it come on early enough in the morning to give the birds 15 hours of daylight, and egg production will be improved through the shorter days of winter.

Does a light make chickens lay more eggs?

A hen's ovary is stimulated to produce eggs by the many glands that comprise her endocrine system and the endocrine system is stimulated by light. Adding supplemental light inside the coop can trigger a hen's endocrine system into action, allowing her to produce eggs as it did in the spring and summer months.

Should chickens have a light on in their coop at night?

light your coop in the evenings. Chickens can't see well in the dark. Having a light that goes on at dusk and off in the middle of the night, plunging them into sudden darkness, will create anxiety and, potentially, injury as chickens try to find their roost.

Does it need to be dark for chickens to lay eggs?

Chickens need a combination of both daylight and darkness to stay healthy and produce eggs. Bright light at night will stop them from getting essential sleep, leading to ill health and stress-induced behavioral problems.