Do-it-yourself lighting in the chicken coop. Daylight hours for laying hens: choosing the optimal mode

People who raise chickens are often not very responsible in creating optimal lighting for the birds to live. However, if you choose the optimal light regime, the quality of life of laying hens will noticeably improve. This will increase their egg production and physical development. Lighting in a chicken coop must take into account certain features. It is important to know the necessary technical specifications lighting devices, as well as features of their use in the poultry house.

The role of lighting

Light in a chicken coop is one of the most important factors in the normal development of birds. Optimal physiological maturation of laying hens is impossible without properly created lighting conditions. This makes cultivation more productive. In addition, the economic benefits of constructing a proper lighting system are undeniable.

Many indicators depend on this:

• the number of eggs laid, as well as their quality indicators;
• chicken survival rate;
• chicken growth efficiency;
• energy efficiency;
• the amount of feed that chickens consume;
• egg fertility.

For these reasons, optimal lighting of the poultry house should be provided.

Planning Features

In order for chickens to feel as comfortable as possible in the chicken coop and also quickly gain weight, you need to know several features of creating lighting:

These tips allow you to set lighting to suit the needs of laying hens.

Characteristics of lighting fixtures

When planning a chicken coop, you should choose special lighting devices for it. It is important to determine the characteristics of the lamps that will be used:

When choosing a lamp color, you must consider the following features:

• When using an orange tint of light, bird performance increases;
• if you choose lamps with a blue tint, the birds will be calmer;
• young animals grow better in green light;
• Thanks to the red color of lighting in the coop, the number of eggs is reduced, but there is no severe feather plucking.

Recently, sodium lamps have become quite popular. They include devices that differ in power 70 and 50 W. They have one common cartridge. Such products do not create pulsation. These devices can be turned on both separately and together. There are several advantages of such a system:

• it is quite bright;
• chicken behavior is better controlled;
• There are fewer shaded areas due to the fact that the rays are distributed evenly throughout the space.

Among poultry farmers, the practice of using lampshades is quite common. This allows you to direct the rays of light onto the floor.

Important! The light regime that is installed in the chicken coop must be stable. If it is picked, the number of eggs may decrease and the hens will experience untimely molting.

The air in the poultry house is different high humidity. Given this condition, the wires should not be installed directly inside the chicken coop. This may cause a short circuit. Every detail of the wiring must be located outside the chicken coop. The shield must have good moisture protection.

Winter lighting in the chicken coop

As the duration of natural light decreases, chickens become less active. This is explained by the slowdown of all processes in their body. In addition, the egg production rate of chickens decreases. This situation can be easily corrected if the daylight hours are artificially extended. It should be increased to 13 hours a day. Thanks to this, the rate of egg laying will increase by 30%. To create lighting in a chicken coop in winter, it is necessary to fulfill a number of conditions that will help increase the performance of laying hens.

People involved in breeding laying hens do not even realize how important it is to have lighting in the chicken coop. Thanks to it, you will not only be able to avoid the game of “don’t step on the egg” if you suddenly have to visit the chicken coop in the dark or in winter, but also provide laying hens with a longer period of fruitfulness and faster puberty. However, there is another problem.

Lighting in the chicken coop has positive influence for laying hens

Some, even knowing about the benefits of lighting in a chicken coop, are afraid of difficulties. However, building this thing with your own hands is not as difficult as you might think. Every chicken breeder should learn about all the details by reading this article. A lot of interesting things await you: you will have to choose the color of the lamps and even purchase a timer.

The benefits of light in a chicken coop

What positive effect does coop lighting have on laying hens? Their life will be more comfortable, the development of physiology it will be easier and faster. Egg production will increase several times, and this will have an effect on your economic benefit. Here is a list that will tell you why a chicken house should have light:

• there will be more eggs, their quality parameters will improve - weight, shell density and size;
• the growth and development of laying hens will become more efficient;
• the percentage of injuries among chickens will decrease;
• productivity will last longer;
• the food will be digested better;
• chicken survival will increase;
• energy costs are low.

Now you can be sure that the light is really needed.

Chicken coop lighting is a very serious matter.

What should be considered when organizing lighting?

Before you start making your own light in the house for your laying hens, it won’t hurt to familiarize yourself with some theoretical aspects, which will help you organize everything correctly, in accordance with the instructions, because otherwise the lighting will not be useful. Special attention should be given to the intensity of the light supply. Having just been born, chicks need light of at least 30 lux.

When the chicks begin to grow and gain height (on average this takes 21 days), you can reduce the intensity by adjusting it to just 5 lux. But if in your chicken coop there is an owner of a bright tail, that is, a rooster, the light should be brighter - at least 15 lux. Laying hens see extremely poorly at night. When sunset comes, or the hours shorten in winter daylight hours, the bird is literally disoriented, and only dawn serves as deliverance for it.

But chickens don't have to wait until sunrise to crawl into their cozy roost. As evening approaches, they will begin to take up space, and then some chicken keepers deprive them of a light source. This is wrong. All birds must be in place, and only after that you can turn off the lights. Conclusion: light is very necessary in the evening and during the day in winter.

The transition from darkness to light should be smooth

It may happen that the chickens begin fierce fights - the chicken coop will be filled with warlike cackling, and torn feathers will decorate the chicken coop. To stop the aggression, turn down the brightness a couple of lux. This should calm the hens down. Time passes, and lighting devices begin to lose ground due to dust. Therefore, a reserve of brightness is needed.

There should be no sudden lights on. This will cause panic among the hens, and such stress is unfavorable for egg production. So choose a lighting system that makes a slow, smooth transition from darkness to light. Everyone is familiar with the fact that the electricity is sometimes turned off? People are used to this, but for laying hens, a sudden shutdown will be a terrible shock.

The worst thing that can happen is that the poor fellows will trample each other. Therefore, never leave lamps on all day. Alternate darkness with light, gradually accustoming the birds. The daylight hours for chickens should be long enough - at least ten hours, because puberty depends on this.

What lamps are suitable for a chicken coop?

The rules for creating comfortable conditions for laying hens with your own hands do not end with the organization of lighting. There should also be suitable lamps, and choosing them is not at all difficult. For every 6 square meters there should be 60 watts. Therefore, the number of lamps is determined by the area of ​​the room. The light bulbs must be fluorescent, their power is 40 W.

Lamp color affects productivity

The use of fluorescent lamps with a flickering effect is also allowed. However, this can have an adverse effect on the vision of laying hens. To avoid this, choose a lamp with a pulsation frequency of at least 26 kHz. Uniformity must be maintained. To do this, place the light bulbs so that the distance is the same. The color of the lamps also matters:

• blue will calm the birds, prevent any manifestations of aggression;
• green - responsible for the rapid development of laying hen physiology;
• red color is unfavorable - chickens will lay fewer eggs;
• orange color will increase productivity.

There are also sodium light bulbs. They have a common cartridge, consisting of two devices with a power of at least 50 W. They do not have a pulsation function; you can turn them on all together or each one separately. If you need complete control over the inhabitants of the chicken coop, this lamp will be an ideal option, because its light spreads across the area in such a way that dark corners disappear. Learn a few more rules if you want to build a poultry house with your own hands.

• The chicken coop is quite humid. When installing wiring, sockets and switches, please note that the wires should not be localized on its territory. The shield outside the perimeter of the poultry house is where the wiring should be located.
• Chickens may accidentally touch the lamp. This can be avoided by installing thick shades.

It is better to install light bulbs in the chicken coop in shades

Installing lighting in winter

Lighting in a poultry house in winter is a separate issue. Now you will need a timer. But more on that a little later. Dawn and sunset now come on time, causing the regime to become disrupted, it becomes colder, as a result of which all processes of the bird’s body slow down, so there are fewer and fewer eggs. By artificially increasing daylight hours, you can normalize the productivity of laying hens. Let the light burn for a full 13 hours.

In winter, additional light is a must, although it must be provided before December. The hens' molting will end in November, and from that moment on, begin to gradually adjust the intensity and time of lighting, for which you need a timer. Every dawn for birds should begin with turning on the lamps. Sunset should not be a reason to turn off the lights - wait a few more hours.

By artificially increasing daylight hours, you can normalize the productivity of laying hens

Yes, you will have to visit the chicken coop almost at night, but such sacrifices in winter are necessary, as they will bring the desired fruits. If you understand that you won’t be able to get up so early and trudge into the poultry house, you can use a time relay - excellent aid for every chicken owner. You can do it yourself:

• assemble a lamp from the strand board;
• install the wiring, strictly measuring the size of the lamp;
• assemble the lamp using metal corners as fasteners;
• hang on the ceiling, power it with an outlet;
• buy an electronic timer and run a lamp through it.

In winter, the chicken coop definitely needs additional light.

Which timer is suitable? Regular, made in China, with ten operating modes. The result will be a good time relay that does not require serious cash costs or special efforts. Using the same principle, the timer can be used to ventilate the chicken coop, which is also important. In winter there is no need for it, but in summer you will be happy.

By choosing the type of light bulbs, their color, location, and building a timer that will make your work easier, you will create an ideal place for laying hens to live comfortably not only in winter, but at any time of the year. This will take a lot of time, but the result justifies the cost and effort.

Raising chickens is not that difficult. You just need to follow the necessary rules. Experienced poultry farmers are well aware that chicken coop lighting has great value and use this circumstance to obtain greater benefits from running their farm.

Lighting in a chicken coop is not installed for the convenience of the owner. The fact is that chickens are very sensitive to light; at dusk they see almost nothing. When dusk comes, they become less active, and when they turn off, they immediately fall asleep. By increasing the length of daylight hours, the period of active wakefulness of the chicken increases. Chickens lay eggs more, their eggs are larger, and their shells are thicker.

Increased daylight hours mean achievement optimal conditions for the absorption of feed, and therefore for the full growth and development of birds. In addition, good lighting helps prevent injuries that occur in the dark. Chickens in a light house are much more active and healthier and gain weight faster. But the light in the chicken coop should not be on constantly; the birds need time to rest, which they should spend in the dark. This has a beneficial effect on their immune system and normalizes calcium metabolism, which ensures the formation of bone tissue.

Video “Correct lighting in the poultry house”

From the video you will learn about what kind of lighting should be in the poultry house.

Planning your lighting system

Due to the nature of chickens, it is difficult to see when there is insufficient light; the lighting of the poultry house must be properly planned. As a result, it represents a solution to many issues: the brightness of lighting, the time of increasing daylight hours, the range of the emission spectrum of lamps. By adjusting these parameters, you can influence the amount of food eaten, the rate of weight gain, behavior, and even regulate the molting process. The room is zoned according to lighting intensity: in the area of ​​the nests there should be twilight - below 5 Lux, and near the feeders - bright and intense light - 50-70 Lux.
If chickens are kept together with adult chickens, then in the area of ​​young animals the illumination should be greater - 30-40 Lux than for adults - 10 Lux. The light intensity is increased to 15 Lux if a rooster lives in the chicken coop with its family. It happens that chickens start fights and injure each other. In order for the birds to calm down, the brightness of the light must be reduced.

The lights are turned on several hours before the start of natural daylight and several hours after sunset. To avoid causing stress to the chickens, the lights should not be turned on at full power at once. If possible, it is better to equip the lighting system with a timer with a brightness control.

When used, the light turns on and off gradually, reaching maximum power in a few minutes, simulating sunrise and sunset. If this is not possible, then the light is first turned on away from the perches and nests where the chickens rest, and after a few minutes the general lighting is turned on. In the evening they do it in reverse order. Turn off the lights completely when all the chickens have roosted. Optimal length Daylight hours are 10-14 hours.

Characteristics of lamps for the chicken coop

The cheapest lamps are incandescent lamps. They have a good spectrum range, no blinking, and are safe. In addition, the lamp itself works like a spot heating element. Its disadvantage is its high energy consumption. But in small subsidiary plots, with a small amount lamps, it is still used today. In this case, incandescent lamps with a power of 40-60 W are used. For every 6 sq. m of chicken coop requires 1 light bulb. For large poultry houses, more economical options are used, for example, the use of LED lamps. They have a very long service life, more than 50 thousand hours, warm white light in the range of 2800-3200 K, operating temperature range from -20 to +50 degrees, dust and moisture resistance. Fluorescent or fluorescent lamps are also used.

It is necessary to choose lamps with a flickering frequency of at least 26 thousand Hz so that it does not affect the eyes of birds. These lamps are very cost-effective; you can choose the desired shade of light, in our case, warm white. Their disadvantage is the content of harmful mercury and the need to dispose of them. When arranging lighting in a poultry house, you need to take into account the effect of color on chickens: red reduces the number of eggs laid, orange promotes reproduction, and with green light, chickens develop and grow better. Blue color calms birds, which is used when chickens need vaccinations, wing trimming and various other manipulations.

When installing the lighting system, take into account that the house is quite damp. Therefore, the electrical panel is located outside it, and in the room itself they try to run as few wires as possible. All lamps must be covered with thick-walled glass shades.

Lighting in winter

Let's determine what kind of lighting is needed in winter period and how long should it be in the coop in winter? As the length of daylight hours decreases, the intensity of all processes in chickens slows down, and the number of eggs becomes significantly less.
Therefore, starting in November, natural daylight hours are increased by turning on electric lamps in the chicken coop for several hours before dawn and after sunset. By extending daylight hours to 12-13 hours, you can increase egg production by 30%. In winter it is especially convenient if the lighting is installed using automatic timers and relays.

Video “Lighting in winter”

From the video you will learn how to make the right light in a poultry house in winter.

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Good afternoon, dear site guests and subscribers. Today we will discuss the effect of light on the productivity of laying hens and their physiological state. In poultry farming, light is one of the main technological elements. Intermittent and constant lighting for laying hens has a powerful effect on the nervous, endocrine and reproductive systems, and actively affects the growth, development, vitality and productivity of the bird.

In the early twentieth century, it was believed that in terms of feed intake, ovulation and egg production important factor is the length of daylight hours. However, back in the 50s, this theory was refuted after the famous works of D. King.

It has been convincingly proven that under constant lighting conditions, it is not the total duration of daylight for laying hens that is important, but the nature of its change.

D. King, having analyzed extensive literary material on the results of raising and keeping chickens in natural conditions, came to the conclusion that autumn-hatched chickens are always more productive than spring-hatched chickens. Why?

Autumn-hatched chicks grow and develop when the length of natural daylight gradually increases. And they begin oviposition when the duration of natural daylight hours begins to gradually decrease. After this, he concluded that egg laying in chickens is stimulated not by the total length of daylight, but by its gradual action, as happens in nature in the spring.

Having caught this pattern, he developed constant lighting regimes for growing and keeping them in windowless rooms and as a result received an increase of 60 eggs per hen per year. Not a single breeding program in the entire history of poultry science has achieved such tangible results in such a short time.

After these works, numerous studies followed around the world on the development of a rational constant lighting regime for replacement young animals and adult chickens for egg production. Correct assembly of switchboard equipment allows you to remotely control lighting zones without disturbing the hens.

Among domestic works in this direction, it is necessary to mention the research conducted under the leadership of N.V. Pigarev. Thanks to which a scientifically based program on lighting for laying hens has become the main component of the technology for intensive egg production in our country.

Conclusions on daylight hours for laying hens

Numerous experiments and extensive factual material allowed N.V. Pigarev and co-authors to formulate the following provisions:

1. Increasing daylight hours stimulate the sexual development of pullets, but somewhat retards their growth. The early oviposition caused by this is accompanied by frequent cases of laying eggs without and small eggs;
2. Shortening daylight hours delays the sexual development of pullets, but promotes their further good growth, with a significantly greater mass of the first eggs and better use of feed;
3. A short, stable daylight period (6 hours per day) delays the sexual development of pullets to a lesser extent than a shortening day, providing higher egg production with a lower egg weight and live weight.

The principles outlined are of a very general nature and need to be specified. The attempt allowed us to formulate the following conclusions:

1. Changes in light regimes have little effect on growing pullets up to 10 weeks of age;
2. The critical period for raising pullets, in which the effect of daylight hours on puberty is most pronounced, is the period from 10 to 16 weeks of age, when daylight hours for laying hens should not increase;
3. A constant 6-hour daylight period from one day of age to sexual maturity leads to a decrease in egg mass;
4. A constant 8-10 hour day of light prevents early puberty as effectively as a 6-hour day, but does not affect egg mass;
5. Constantly decreasing daylight hours do not inhibit puberty if its duration is at least 12 hours by 120 days of age;
6. If a stimulating light program is introduced at 16-17 weeks of age, it should be gradually increased.

Lighting for laying hens in the chicken coop

Intermittent lighting for laying hens

IN lately In egg farming, intermittent lighting is increasingly being used for laying hens. Compared to constant light around the clock, it allows not only to increase egg production, egg weight, shell strength, and the duration of use of laying hens, but also to simultaneously reduce feed costs, livestock waste, and energy consumption.

In addition, with intermittent lighting, the bird behaves calmer, is less susceptible to stress, and there are practically no cases of injury or pecking in the flock.

The digestibility and use of nutrients and minerals of feed are significantly increased, the waste of feed is reduced, since the bird consumes 40-48% of the feed in the dark. With intermittent lighting, it is not the total length of daylight that is important, but what time of day the light is provided, and what the resulting length of the “subjective” day is, i.e. the period in which the chickens are in mode intermittent lighting perceived as daylight.

Depending on the ratio of periods of light and darkness, all modes of the intermittent method can be divided into two types: asymmetric and symmetric. The bird reacts to them completely differently.

Asymmetrical intermittent lighting

Modes of an intermittent asymmetric type (for example, 2C: 4T: 8C: 10T) are perceived by a flock of chickens as a single change of day and night. From the point of view of feed consumption, ovulation and egg laying, chickens perceive the longest period of darkness as night, and the following light period is the beginning of the “subjective” day or “dawn”. The bird ignores other short periods of darkness.

In the herd, there is a general synchronization of egg laying, that is, it coincides with the “subjective” day. Synchronization can be considered to occur if about 80% of the eggs are laid during the “subjective” day. The degree of agreement, however, cannot be strictly “tied” to this value, since it will vary depending on the level of productivity of the bird.

With asymmetric lighting, the productivity of laying hens increases, and feed consumption decreases, or both indicators remain at the same level as with constant lighting. It is regimes of this type that are increasingly found wide application in egg poultry farming.

Symmetrical intermittent lighting

In conditions of intermittent lighting of a symmetrical type (for example, (3C:3T)x4 or (1C:3T)x6, etc.), chickens cannot clearly distinguish between “subjective” day and “subjective” night, since all periods of darkness, as well as periods of light , are identical in duration. In chicken flocks, oviposition desynchronizes, that is, it continues for 24 hours.

However, in general, egg production decreases with a simultaneous increase in egg weight and improvement in shell quality. An increase in the live weight of poultry is especially characteristic, and therefore it is more expedient to use symmetrical lighting for laying hens in broiler production.

Differences in the duration of periods of darkness are a more important factor in the synchronization of oviposition than differences in the duration of periods of light. So, for example, the 6C:10T:6C:2T mode causes synchronization, but the 6C:7T:4C:7T mode does not.

In order for synchronization to occur, a “subjective” day should not exceed 16 hours. From the point of view of chicken productivity, a “subjective” day lasting 14-16 hours is more rational.

The length of the “subjective” day under intermittent lighting, and its shift towards the morning or evening hours of the day, affect the rhythm of oviposition in the herd, as well as the mass and quality of egg shells. Thus, a shift in the “subjective” day towards the morning hours, as well as a reduction in its duration from 16 to 14 hours (while turning on the light after a long period of darkness) leads to an increase in the number of morning eggs and, consequently, an increase in their weight and shell strength, and vice versa.

There is a daily endogenous rhythm of photosensitivity in the bird's body. According to available data, the photosensitive phase for chickens begins 11 hours after the first turn on of the light (“dawn”) and lasts 5 hours, despite the fact that this period can be interrupted short periods darkness.

Intermittent lighting modes for laying hens

Our research has shown that when developing and using intermittent lighting modes in egg farming, it is advisable to take into account the duration and frequency of alternation of photoperiods in the photosensitive phase.

Changing the duration of light exposure during the photosensitive phase can be used as a method to regulate the daily rhythm of oviposition and egg mass. Thus, reducing the duration of illumination from 5 to 1 hour during this period leads to a significant shift in egg laying to the morning and an increase in egg mass, and vice versa.

Taking into account the above patterns, researchers have developed intermittent lighting modes.

• When raising replacement young animals, there is a constant daylight hours with a decrease in its duration from 23 hours at a daily age to 10 hours at a weekly age, followed by transferring the birds to intermittent lighting according to the 3C: 2T: 3C: 16T scheme with a total duration of the “subjective” day of 8 hours a day up to 17 weeks of age.

• When keeping industrial laying hens from 17 weeks of age until the end of the productive period - 2C: 4T: 2C: 9T: 1C: 6T with a total length of the “subjective” day of 15 hours a day.

• When keeping poultry: 18th week - 3C: 2T: 3C: 14T: 0.5C: 1.5T; Week 19 – 3S:2T:3S:12T:1S:3T; Week 20 – 3S:2T:3S:10T:1.5S:4.5T; from the 21st week to the end of the productive period - 3C: 2T: 3C: 9T: 2C: 5T with a total duration of the “subjective” day of 15 hours a day.

• For breeding hens with artificial insemination: 18th week – 3C: 2T: 3C: 16T; Week 19 – 0.5S:2T:3S:1.5T:3S:14T; Week 20 – 1S:3T:3.5S:1T:3.5S:12T; from the 21st week to the end of the productive period - 1C: 4T: 4C: 1T: 4C: 10T with a total duration of the “subjective” day of 14 hours a day.

• When keeping breeding animals from 17 weeks of age until the end of operation - 1C: 2T: 4C: 1T: 4C: 12T with a total duration of the “subjective day” of 12 hours a day.

Many years of experience have shown that replacement young animals raised under constant lighting can be switched to intermittent lighting for laying hens during the productive period, but the reverse option is impractical.

Of course, the best results are obtained by using an intermittent method until the end of the life of the chicken family.

How to switch to intermittent lighting?

Laying hens can be switched to intermittent lighting at any time during the productive period, only the first switching on of the light after a long period of darkness should be done no later than with constant lighting, and even better, 2-3 hours earlier. When using intermittent lighting, 25-30% is advisable daily norm Distribute food before evening lights out.

It is known that a source of feed calcium is completely digested in approximately 12 hours. Consequently, if it is fed at 2 pm, then by 2 am, that is, just at the time of intensive shell formation in many chickens, the food will be completely removed from the gastrointestinal tract. When there is a shortage of food sources, 30-40% of calcium comes from the bone depot.

However, the quality of egg shells is always higher when the body uses a food source of this element to form it than calcium from bone tissue. With a floor-based system for keeping breeding birds, it is not advisable to use intermittent lighting modes. Because large number laying hens in the herd will stop using the nest and the number of dirty eggs will increase sharply.

Chicken appeared in the household more than 7 thousand years ago. Experienced poultry keepers believe that this is the most unpretentious bird. At the same time, they note that some rules in keeping birds must be followed. These include the organization of artificial light in the chicken coop.

Lighting in a chicken coop is not a whim of the breeder, but an additional opportunity to improve the standard of living of the flock. In the dark, the chicken practically cannot see, so when dusk falls, it immediately falls asleep.