Visitors Now:
Total Visits:
Total Stories:
Profile image
By Off The Grid News
Contributor profile | More stories
Story Views

Now:
Last Hour:
Last 24 Hours:
Total:

6 Popular Hens For Egg Production

Friday, August 2, 2013 1:04
% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

(Before It's News)

Rhode Island Red hen eggs

Chickens have been bred for hundreds of years to lay eggs for most of the year. But even the best egg layers have rest periods, especially during the cold, dark winter. However, since the egg industry started, large-scale factory farm egg production facilities have used artificial lighting to force their hens to lay year-round, and many homesteaders and backyard farmers are duplicating this practice. There’s no doubt that artificial lighting works to maximize egg laying during the winter, but is it really the best decision to make?

How Light Affects Laying

Like other animals, a chicken’s natural cycles are controlled by the endocrine system. This system releases various hormones throughout the bird’s life, influencing functions such as molting, brooding, and egg laying. Places with dark winters have colder winters that are too harsh for a hen to successfully raise chicks. The endocrine system, therefore, reacts to the length of daylight, turning the reproductive cycle “off,” or at least slowing it down, when sunlight dips to below 14 hours a day.

Problems Caused By Artificial Lighting

Despite countless generations of breeding for good egg layers, there’s no doubt that egg laying takes a lot of work and puts a lot of stress on a chicken’s body.

Source: http://www.offthegridnews.com/2013/08/02/6-popular-hens-for-egg-production/

Report abuse

Comments

Your Comments
Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

Total 1 comment
  • That is why Chickens in the Tropics thrive and are healthier as hell compared to feedlot corporate 1st dump world GMO country we have now.

Top Stories
Recent Stories

Register

Newsletter

Email this story
Email this story

If you really want to ban this commenter, please write down the reason:

If you really want to disable all recommended stories, click on OK button. After that, you will be redirect to your options page.