Lighting for non-layers

[rick]

With the clocks just about to go back and keen not to expose the hens to lights that will mess up a natural rest from laying I've been reading a lot of commercial lighting documents (mostly Hy-line and Once.) Finding it very humorous (in a geeky sort of way) that 'Lux', that is the human unit of luminescence, is converted to 'cLux' by the industry due to the chickens wider spectral sensitivity to light.

Anyway, it seems that narrow band green light (green light emitting diodes, typically at about 515 to 525nm) is well short of the red light wavelengths (>570nm) (natural daylight and just about any sort of 'white' artificial light) that easily passes through their skulls to the hypothalamus and is responsible for egg laying hormone production. Apparently, in sheds, they hang lights to produce just 30 Lux at feeder height (for 16 hours a day) - that’s not much more than a few candles worth by my reckoning but more than enough to keep them in lay!

Going to give the green light a try in the evenings. Seems to be common to use green and blue with broilers to keep them calm (carefully as what we see as a blue glimmer is a blaring beacon to them hence the use of a cLux meter!)

I am expecting, though, that pure green light is going to be pretty awful to see by!

 

[dinosaw]

At the risk of being a miserable sod I'm not really sure why you would bother Rick, is it for you to see or for them to see?

 

[rick]

Its for me to see, though they would be able to see by it as well (to a similar extent.)
I have no idea whether they would consider it suitable light to get off the perch for beyond daylight hours. It would just make it possible to go in and tidy up in the evening when the day gets shorter than my working one in the week.

 

[dinosaw]

They are very lucky to have you Rick. I just use a bog standard torch though I'm not sure much light makes it into the coops as I generally just pick up the feeders as quickly as possible and am out of there.

 

[rick]

Cheers. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head saying light 'into the coops'. My arrangement doesn’t have coops as such, just open (though sheltered) roost and nest shelves.
Its no big problem, I probably clean up a bit more than necessary. Another chicken keeper down the street told me that she hadn’t seen her hens for 3 days - auto pop hole and all - *aghast!*

 

[rick]

Just to report that I have been using a 10W green LED flood light (pointing at a reflector on the roof otherwise it casts rather weird hard shadows) for a couple of weeks. They seem quite happy with it though they do go to roost about an hour after they would normally (it doesn’t keep them up indefinitely like an incandescent lamp would.) Mostly, I think, because they do find it harder to identify the food in the monochrome light when all the daylight goes so, lets face it, why stay up!
I could use some blue as well but I don’t think it would make much difference to the quality of vision without some red content.
Anyway - I can see well enough in it to tidy up a bit, check there’s no emergencies and top up the food for the morning when I get home from work before dimming it out so it's doing roughly what I wanted without any increase in laying.
It does seem to inhibit aggression / have a calming effect (not so much chasing) when added to daylight. Not sure why.

I've seen a photo of a green tarpaulin being hung up over the open side of barns, presumably to discourage aggression? Wonder if it would help when integrating new birds? All speculation!

 

[Ailla]

My four hens went through a lean patch before Christmas, which is why I was asking about supplements etc. There is a light in their coop, as it was once a garage, but it's only used to check them in at night, then I switch it off again. there are three nest boxes in there always filled with bedding, but they don't use them. they flutter onto the sloping top and roost there - always have, with the exception of the biggest - Bertha. I do try to get her to flutter up there as well and she usually does if I put on the light and encourage her.

What has made an enormous difference to egg production since December has been the Chick Pea addition to the diet. Then finally finding pellets over here, I'm getting one per hen each a day generally. The girls are also much more settled at night - I don't hear a peep as I go in to lock them up and Bertha was prone to a bit of bullying before. Her comb was always floppy and pale - now it looks just like the others. Thanks to everyone who has helped me!

 

[rick]

That looks like a great area for them in the photo Ailla. I presume there is a fence also in the distance (behind the coop perhaps) though I cant make it out in the photo.
Sounds like they have been through a fairly standard off-lay period (pale comb and all.) I was surprised this year when, as soon as the longest day was passed, egg laying got back under way - well for some at least, but if her comb was always pale (i.e. during last summer) and the diet has improved that then there probably was something else going on.
Not roosting in nest boxes is very normal and desirable (or they would poop in there where they lay their eggs.) I presume they do go in the nest boxes to lay? Chickens like to roost up high, especially if they are good flyers. Bigger hens find it a bit of a struggle and I guess that’s what’s happening with Bertha. Our roosting shelf is a bit high and although they can all fly up to it they also have a long plank with ridges so they can walk up there too.

It's almost light enough now when I get home from work to see them and sort things out before they roost. At least on the clearer days - when that low cloud comes over then it feels like dusk in the middle of the day! The mornings are stretching out too and they are venturing down from the perch just before I go out there at 7:00. The green light has been good and I’m convinced that it hasn’t stimulated egg laying at all though I'm not sure how long an exposure of normal light it takes to trigger the hypothalamus - a few minuets of light on or torch probably has no effect either.