[Little Gem]

Hi all

Please can you help, as the nights are drawing in my chicken's egg laying will slow down. A friend of ours suggested artificial lighting for a couple of hours would help, but we are not sure what type to use. Is a standrad outdoor light (say 60w light bulb) by the chicken run sufficient?, any tips would be helpful

Many Thanks

LG 

[welshboy]

What I have done is put a 25w light inside the hen house(it's small) on a timer to come on earlier in the morning.
You don't want it to go off suddenly at night as they would not have gone to roost. our 3 hens are back to 3 eggs a day- they were dipping to 1 maybe 2 before the light.

[Bobby]

Our 4 chooks are still laying one each a day.  Although they are waking us up later and going to bed earlier

[harry]

ooooooooohh gord here we go again, ITS NOT NATURAL YOU KNOW, there ive said it first, Ime waiting to put a light up but you need the hens to have a bit of a winter so i may put mine up next week, it shouldnt be too bright a 10 15w low energy buld should do it, as if its to bright when it goes off they think its evening again if its a dull day, mine will go on about 4 am.

[Bobby]

We are new to this so just letting them do whatever - should we just do this - the chooks were bought as pets - so the eggs are a bonus - any tips for bonfire night

[harry]

some do it some dont.... a hen has a max number of eggs to lay in say 3 years. if they have a long break in winter then they will lay for a longer time span, if you use light to trick them then all those max number of eggs will come out in a shorter time , say 2 and a bit years..... but either way you wont get more eggs in their lifetime you will just get more quicker, then get new hens.