Lighting Management in Chicken Coops
Lighting management plays a crucial role in the operation of chicken coops, especially during seasons when daylight hours gradually decrease. For open and semi-open chicken coops, egg-laying hens rely on natural lighting to maintain their normal physiological rhythms and hormonal metabolism. However, as daylight hours decrease, the amount of light received by the hens also shortens, adversely affecting the hormonal metabolism of the flock and subsequently leading to a significant drop in egg production rates.
To ensure that egg-laying hens receive stable and sufficient lighting, we must promptly adjust the timing of turning lights on and off. Generally, egg-laying hens need approximately 16 hours of lighting per day, which is a key factor in maintaining their high egg production rates. When natural lighting is insufficient, we need to extend the lighting hours through artificial lighting, and the supplementary lighting should be evenly distributed between the morning and evening, rather than being concentrated solely in the morning or evening.
Specifically, we recommend adjusting the evening lighting time to 17:00 to ensure sufficient lighting for a few hours after sunset. At the same time, the morning lighting time should be adjusted to 5:00 to provide necessary lighting for the hens before sunrise. Such adjustments help maintain the stability of lighting hours, thereby contributing to the maintenance of hormonal metabolism balance in the flock.
Furthermore, we should install lampshades on the light bulbs, which can not only improve lighting efficiency but also make the light more evenly distributed within the chicken coop. Additionally, we should regularly clean the dust on the light bulbs and promptly replace damaged bulbs to ensure the stability and uniformity of lighting intensity. These measures help prevent abnormal behaviors such as feather pecking among the hens due to insufficient or uneven lighting.
Lastly, we must pay special attention to avoiding the oversight of switching between natural and artificial lighting. Such negligence may expose the hens to excessive or insufficient lighting within a short period, adversely affecting their physiological rhythms and egg production rates. Therefore, we should develop a strict lighting management plan and ensure that all staff strictly adhere to it.
In summary, through scientific and reasonable management of lighting hours, lighting intensity, and lighting uniformity in chicken coops, we can effectively maintain the hormonal metabolism balance and stable egg production rates of the flock, thereby bringing higher economic benefits to the poultry industry.