What does it mean chickens need sunlight to lay eggs?

[AMaggio]

My main question is do they need full sun, uv rays, or just light around them to lay? I ask because we have a tarp over half their run because it's so hot here in Missouri. Am i going to have problems with them laying or is just being around light enough?

 

[TooCheep]

Sounds like you are fine. Don't overthink it. You will note that the chickens will naturally spend more time in the shade during the heat of day to keep cooler. They'll move out into the sun when they feel like wandering around out there.

Ideally, they should have access to both full sun and shade and they'll move back and forth to help keep warmer/cooler.

 

[Criticalicious]

They need to see natural daylight, not necessarily sun and especially not full sun if it's hot. I would leave the tarp up for shade. They can see the light so they should be fine.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

They just won't do well locked up in, say, a totally dark or mostly dark garage or coop all day and only let out for an hour or so a day. Battery hens (commercial hens) may never see the actual sun their whole lives, but they are provided with artificial light a certain number of hours a day and that works.

 

[Henriettamom919]

I think just ambient light is all they require; I know some who live in Alaska have to supplement light at certain times of year to keep them laying and I'm pretty sure they use regular lighting (vs. Special sunlight simulator bulbs) and that seems to work so I'm sure whatever bleeds through the tarp is fine.

 

[Parront]

You only need enough light for you to be able to read by. That is all I give my parrots, too. That is what a 60 light bulb would put out in a ~100 sq foot coop, to keep it easy. Shade in the day time is fantastic, as the previous poster said, commercial birds never see the sun at all!

 

[AMaggio]

Thanks everyone, i appreciate the replies. We're close to egg laying age here so i want to make sure the conditions are right.

 

[Parront]

Thanks everyone, i appreciate the replies. We're close to egg laying age here so i want to make sure the conditions are right.

Best thing is to keep the same length of daylight (light). When they start to lay, note the time the sun comes up, and sets. Add minutes in the morning, to make sure the light stays the same. Does that make sense?

 

[Criticalicious]

As far as conditions for egg laying, I'd be less worried about light and more worried about nutrition. Unless you're somewhere like Alaska for example or you're keeping your chickens in a dark building (which it sounds like you aren't).

 

[Compost King]

Might be a light cycle thing, I had a bantam coop that was near my Carport light, I started keeping it on at night in the middle of winter and light started going in through the vents and they started laying at night. Also when we had a cold spell over a year ago and I needed to put heat lamps in the Bantam coop they started laying an egg a day for the week they had a red heat lamp in their coop. I am guessing the hours of day light (or artificial light) is what triggers them to lay.