Importance of Light to Layers.

Sunlight stimulates quite a few biological processes in living organisms. It drives the production of vitamin D in our own bodies, photosynthesis in plants, and of course egg laying in your hens.

When a certain wavelength of light reaches a chicken’s brain, it triggers a chain of events that leads to productive egg laying:

The light is captured by photoreceptors in the brain. The brain begins producing substances called “neuropeptides” (amino acid chains)
These neuropeptides tell the chicken’s body to start producing the hormones needed for ovulation, yolk and shell formation, etc.
Unfortunately, not just any old light will trigger this chain reaction for your chickens. The visible light spectrum (that we can see with the naked eye), covers a wide range of wavelengths. Violets and blues are on the lower end of the spectrum, while reds and oranges emit higher wavelengths. Chickens need light on the higher end of the spectrum in order to stimulate egg laying.

Hens will begin laying when the amount of daylight reaches 14 hours per day during early spring. Maximum egg laying will occur when the day length reaches 16 hours per day. These 16 hour “photoperiods” of light in combination with about 8 hours of darkness will help regulate healthy bio-rhythms in your flock.

It is also important to note that persistent cloud cover and excessive particulates in the air (like from wildfire smoke) can weaken the sun’s rays any time of year. Having supplemental lighting on hand can help you through the dark months as well as unexpected periods of weak sunlight.

Not all chicken raisers like to use supplemental lighting with their flocks. Some choose to give their ladies a break for the winter. But if you would like to learn more about how to safely use supplemental lighting, you can encourage productive laying during the off-season.

Supplemental lighting needs to be in the orange to red spectrum to stimulate reproductive cycles. Make sure the lights are placed above food and water sources and reach the majority of the hen house.