{"id":103009,"date":"2022-10-12T13:00:22","date_gmt":"2022-10-12T17:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.hobbyfarms.com\/?p=103009"},"modified":"2022-10-28T10:29:46","modified_gmt":"2022-10-28T14:29:46","slug":"you-can-extend-your-hens-laying-season-heres-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hobbyfarms.com\/you-can-extend-your-hens-laying-season-heres-how\/","title":{"rendered":"You Can Extend Your Hens’ Laying Season\u2014Here’s How"},"content":{"rendered":"

Y<\/span>our chickens give you plenty of enjoyment. They\u2019re fun and interesting to watch. They help keep your weeds and insect population controlled. And they provide that touch of rustic charm to your property. <\/span><\/p>\n

But come on. The real reason you host those hens can be summed up in a few words: scrambled, poached, over-easy, sunny-side up and hard-boiled!\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For many of us, those fresh eggs<\/a> are what it\u2019s all about. Given the importance of egg laying, it\u2019s only natural that you\u2019d want to extend you hens\u2019 laying season as long as possible in order to gather as many eggs as you can in a year. And you\u2019re in luck, as there are a few simple things you can do to maximize farm\u2019s egg potential.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s take a look at them.<\/p>\n

All About the Light<\/b><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re experienced in chicken-keeping, you\u2019re probably already aware that your hens generally lay the most eggs during the height of summer. Those numbers dwindle off as cold weather approaches. <\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s happening? This has less to do with heat, and everything to do with light. Your hens require about 14 hours of daylight before their bodies kick into egg production mode. By the time summer is at its height, your birds are at peak egg production.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no accident that your hens produce the most eggs in the summer and decrease toward winter. Despite your culinary intentions for unfertilized chicken eggs, the main purpose of eggs from a chicken\u2019s point <\/span>of view is to produce chicks. Baby chicks hatching in a natural winter environment (no incubator) is not a good idea!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Producing eggs during cold weather is also a drain on a chicken\u2019s energy resources that they could instead put to use in staying warm. Your hens\u2019 bodies \u201cknow\u201d this (it\u2019s called photoperiodism) and thus attempt to avoid laying eggs in the winter. <\/span><\/p>\n

No January quiche for you! <\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the good news. You can easily alter the number of hours your hens are exposed to \u201cdaylight\u201d with some inexpensive, simple and safe artificial lighting. Because you aren\u2019t aiming to raise chicks in the cold (you just want the eggs) and you have a nice warm coop where your chickens can go to get out of the weather, artificially extending the laying season in the spring and fall is a safe method to try.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike heat lamps or other heat sources that some chicken owners might use to incubate a brooder or keep the coop warm during frigid weather, your goal here is simply to increase the amount of light your hens are exposed to. This will trigger the starting of egg-laying season in the spring or extend it in the fall\u2014possibly well into winter.<\/p>\n

\n

Read more: Selling eggs? Consider your cartons.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Choose a Light Source<\/b><\/h2>\n
Interested in Incandescent? <\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

While you could utilize classic incandescent lighting for the purpose of extending your hens\u2019 laying season, there are a couple of reasons why you might not want to.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For one, incandescent bulbs put off some heat. In a coop situation, this could be undesirable during the nonwinter months when you\u2019re trying to encourage your hens to lay. It\u2019s just an unwanted heat source that might unnecessarily increase the temperature in the coop.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Incandescent lighting also uses more wattage, \u201cpound for pound,\u201d than an LED of the same brightness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Consider the Color Temper\u00adature<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

What incandescent lighting does<\/i> have going for it is the warm color of the light. This is called the light\u2019s \u201ctemperature.\u201d But it has nothing to do with actual heat.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Low temperature lighting (with a rating of, say, 2,700 kelvins) is \u201cwarm\u201d with a yellowish cast, while high temperature lighting (in excess of 5,000 kelvins) is \u201ccool\u201d with a whiter or bluish cast.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the purpose of extending laying seasons, warm lighting is best, as it does a better job stimulating a hen\u2019s laying tendencies. So aim to avoid bulbs with an overly bluish colorcast.<\/p>\n

LED is A-OK<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

LED lighting will work just fine for your egg-laying birds, as long as you select bulbs with warm color temperatures. In fact, LEDs may just be your best option. They run cool and are power-efficient enough to run off of a small solar panel on your coop\u2019s roof, so you don\u2019t have to worry about running electricity from your home down to the coop. <\/span><\/p>\n

They also aren\u2019t prone to failure in cold weather the way fluorescent lighting can be.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moderate the Brightness<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

Your egg-encouraging lighting doesn\u2019t actually have to be very bright. A 25- to 60-watt (or equivalent) bulb should get the job done.<\/p>\n

Choose a Light Fixture<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

Lastly, you\u2019ll need a coop-safe light fixture that is suitably rated and sealed for outdoor use in a livestock situation and hung in a safe location that is inaccessible to the hens. Plan to keep this light free from dust.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Perfect Timing<\/b><\/h2>\n
Install a timer<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

The idea isn\u2019t to run artificially lighting all night. You just want to add some lighting to extend the day. Some people recommend doing this in the morning, others opt to add light in the evening after sunset.<\/p>\n

Either way, you don\u2019t necessarily need to make any late-night runs to chicken coop to flick a switch. Instead, just install your light fixture on a simple timer that can handle the job for you.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Overdo It<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

More isn\u2019t always better. You only want to extend your hens\u2019 exposure to light by a few extra hours. And you don\u2019t want to over-run your artificial light source. <\/span><\/p>\n

You probably want to avoid subjecting your chickens to an excess of 16 to 17 hours of daylight, as this can actually decrease<\/i> egg production. <\/span><\/p>\n

And don\u2019t leave your light on all night. The chickens need a good night\u2019s sleep!<\/span><\/p>\n

Add Light Slowly<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

Think about your own \u201cinternal clock\u201d and how jarring even a small adjustment in time can be\u2014the shift from standard time to daylight saving time, for instance.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no different for your chickens, so aim to increase their artificial lighting over a period of about 30 minutes every week for several weeks so that the change isn\u2019t so sudden to your hens.<\/p>\n

\n

Read more: Here are some ways to get your coop winter-ready.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
Don\u2019t Wait Until It\u2019s Too Late<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

If you\u2019re trying to keep your hens laying longer into the fall months, don\u2019t wait until daylight is under 14 hours before you start running additional lighting. By then it will be too late and the chickens\u2019 reproductive systems will be shutting down.<\/p>\n

Instead, aim to begin adding your light source once total daylight decreases to about 15 hours per day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Consider Your Coop Location<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

Your coop may not be easily movable, but, for what it\u2019s worth, a coop located in heavy shade may affect your hens\u2019 laying season, reducing the number of eggs produced. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, many chicken owners prefer to have their coops located outside of direct sunlight to help limit the heat of summer. You may have to experiment in your exact climate and situation to find a balance between light for laying and shade for keeping cool.<\/span><\/p>\n

A hen in great health that is receiving excellent daily nutrition will have better chances of maintaining a long-term egg production schedule. Keep your hens well fed, and they\u2019ll keep you loaded up with eggs!<\/p>\n

Good luck with your flock.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

More Information<\/h2>\n

Benefits of Time Off<\/b><\/h5>\n

With a little bit of effort and some <\/span>planning on your end, it\u2019s a very <\/span>attainable goal to extend your laying season at both ends of the summer. But with all of that said, keep in mind that some downtime during the middle of winter each year isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing. <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, it can be quite beneficial to your flock.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Allowing hens to take a few winter months off of egg laying gives their bodies time to rest and time to put calories and nutrients into<\/span> surviving winter instead of producing eggs. It\u2019s also an important time to regrow their feathers, as many hens use their egg lay-off to molt and refresh their appearance with a lovely set of brand-new plumage (although some breeds that have been developed for laying may have minimized molting seasons).\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The bottom line is that extending the laying season is just fine. Some hen-keepers do try to keep their flocks laying all year long. But you may want to avoid pressuring and pushing your hens to produce too long into cold weather without a break.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in the September\/October 2022 issue of\u00a0<\/em>Chickens\u00a0magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you want year-round eggs, a few simple things can maximize your hens\u2019 output. Here are some tried-and-true tricks for extending the laying season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":210,"featured_media":103011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[424,10727,10726,10458,10725,10728,10456,10729],"tags":[654,11022,767,2876,11021],"class_list":["post-103009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animals","category-chicken-coops-and-housing","category-chickens-101","category-farm-garden","category-flock-talk","category-health-and-nutrition","category-poultry","category-poultry-equipment","tag-chickens","tag-coop-lighting","tag-eggs","tag-laying-hens","tag-laying-season"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nYou Can Extend Your Hens' Laying Season\u2014Here's How - Hobby Farms<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you want year-round eggs, a few simple things can maximize your hens\u2019 output. 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