Steve Normanton Grass-Fed Beef

Our hens have reached a very low rate of laying and some have begun to molt. We know that adding lights to their house will increase their laying rate, but we have read that the day must be lengthened very gradually, and preferably the lights should only shine prior to dawn (i.e. not after sunset). We explained this to our friends at Cooper Perkins in Lexington, Massachusetts and discovered that they have their own backyard chicken maven on staff. They put together a lighting controller that will detect sunrise and sunset each day, and then by turning on the lights before dawn each day, it will lengthen the day gradually. The hens will get about 5 minutes more light every day until they reach the maximum recommended day length of 16 hours. That should take about 3 months (instead of the 5 months it normally would). So now we are a certified organic farm AND—a high-tech test site!

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