All 20 of my Golden Comet chicks are still alive and doing great on Day 3. Thank you all for all your help so far!

I checked out two good books from the library yesterday but both have left me confused. One said chicks need at least 22 hours of light a day at first but if you're going to raise them for layers to never decrease the light. Then it talks about decreasing the light by about four hours for every week they're alive until they're on a normal "daylight" type schedule.

Right now they still have a light bulb hanging down in their box for their heating source. So they have light around the clock. Will that hurt them? Do I just need to keep the heat on them for about four weeks and then worry about how much light they will need?

How old will they be before they start laying eggs? five months? six? seven? thank you all again!

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), March 24, 2001

Answers

How soon they will start laying varies a little by breed, but I expect you will start seeing your first few eggs around five months, more by six. Leave the light on all the time the first few weeks. After the first week or two, if they are in the house, lower the wattage a little on the bulb each week until they are about a month old, or starting to get a few feathers. You are shooting for about 95 degrees the first week, lowering by about five degrees a week. If they are in an outdoor brooder, don't lower the wattage, as they will simply move away from the light as they get too warm. This time of year when the days are getting longer, you don't really need to worry about the light thing. Since they are not under mother birds, they have to have it for warmth, but once they get on their own, the daylight hours will be on the increase. BTW, if the chicks are in a box, you will probably want to increase their space after the first couple of weeks, and maybe think about making a secure place for them in the barn(with a well secured light). That's about how long it takes me to get tired of cleaning up after them anyway :-)

-- mary, texas (marylgarcia@aol.com), March 24, 2001.

Susy, the chicks will 'tell' you if the light is too close to them - they will scatter to get away from the too hot bulb. If the light is too far away - they will bunch up under the bulb or in a corner. Raise or lower the bulb till they move around and don't bunch at all. Gotta tell you what my 2 yr old grandson said when first seeing the biddies in the cardboard box - "Chicken...nuggets!" (yea, Mom has been getting TOO much take out food.) Enjoy the chicks.

-- Eve in FL (owenall@lwol.com), March 24, 2001.

For Golden Comets, five months you'll have pullet eggs, wonderful things! Egg size will gradually increase as the birds age. If they have ample natural light, don't worry about light requirements until they are ready to start laying, then make sure they have 14 hours of light, use a timer on your henhouse lights. You will need supplemental light for optimum egg production, especially in the winter months.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), March 25, 2001.

I keep hearing that chooks need 14 hours of light to lay. I have no added heat/light out there, and my various breeds lay all year 'round. Guess they didn't read the book! -LOL-

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), March 25, 2001.

Suzy -

Be careful if the chicks start crowding AWAY from the light... Too much heat can be one of the causes of cannibalism. I have raised chicks with the red 'heat lamp' bulbs on 24/7 and never had a problem. I don't see where regular house type light bulbs would be a problem either, cept for the heat.

Better to have the lights on and maintain a steady temperature for the first few days than to turn them off and let the chicks get cold!

-- Sue Diederich (willow666@rocketmail.com), March 26, 2001.

Rogo, it's not that they need the 14 hours of light to lay at all, just that if you want MAXIMUM egg production, you need 14 hours of light. It sure helps to have 14 hours of light here where it can be - 20 degrees with the wind chill factored in, and no sunny days at all for weeks on end in the winter. Yeah, my chickens would lay without the timer and lights, but way less than they do now, and since I sell my eggs, more eggs means more money, they are one of the sole farm animals that actually pay for their feed on this farm.

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), March 26, 2001.

Well, Annie, night time temps can be in the teens and twenties here. Pens are chainlink with tarps covering the roof and 3 sides. No extra heat/light. I throw a lot of eggs away. Can't possibly use them all! My critters have never gone according to the books! -LOL-

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), March 30, 2001.