The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1922-02-04


prepared by the United States Department
i of Agricultural
Artificial lights properly operated
will materially increase the winter egg
production of pullets, the United States
| Department of Agriculture believes.
The use of lights may also slightly in
crease the yearly egg production Of
individual hens, though not to any
marked extent The opinion of the de-
partment's poultry division is fully cor
roborated by many of the state expert
ment stations, particularly those in
California, Indiana, Kansas, Washing
ton. Connecticut, Pennsylvania, North
! Carolina, New York and New Jersey.
| County agents working in New York
and New Jersey report considerable
activity in this project, in which the
! Department of Agriculture usually CO.
operates with the state agricultural
! college through the county agent
Lighting as d Feeding Measure.
1t should be well understood that ar
tificial lighting is intended primarily as
a means of getting the hens to feed
longer than they otherwise would dur
ing the short days of fall and winter.
An extra feeding of scratch grain
should be provided. so that the flock
is induced to eat not only enough for
maintenance but an amount compar-
able to what is eaten in the more ac-
tive laying seasons.
Lights are used soon after Septem-
Der l in New Jersey, but in most local
tiles they are started November l and
continued to April /. Conditions vary
in different states What may be good
practice i'll New Jersey may not work
in Kansas. In The latter state cleo
tricity is considered the only practi-
cable kind of light, while in other
states kerosene lamps and gasoline
ity is the most practical method to use
wherever it is available.
How to Use Artificial Light.
The total daylight, real and artifi- |
cial, should be about fourteen hours. |
There are three ways of increasing |
the apparent length Of the day-by |
turning on lights very early in the
morning. or by keeping them going
several hours at night, or by using
them both morning and night While
all three methods have given good re-
suits. the first is usually found most
convenient, because the lights merge
into daylight and no i'll effects result if
they are not turned off promptly.
In using the second method some
dimming device is needed with electric
lights to lower the illumination gradu-
ally. The hens do not get to their
roosts If the light is suddenly extin-
guished Gasoline and kerosene lamps
have to be turned down.
Artificial lighting can be abused,
with disastrous effects on the flock.
If they are run for too long day, the
hens may produce well for a short time
and then begin to moult. If the laying
passes 60 per cent, or in the opinion
of some poultry authorities, 30 per
cent. there is danger of mOulting and
cessation Of laying. In the
spring the lights should never be
stopped abruptly. The length Of time
hey are run should be shortened
about ten minutes q day until they can
De entirely abandoned.
Other Points With Lights.
Fresh water should be given the
lock the first thing in the morning
When the lights are turned on. Birds
# different ages should not be housed
ogether or lighted i'll the same way.
They should be properly graded and
locked according to age. Lighting {
makes it possible to carry February ,
latched puIlets through the first fall ,
nd winter producing period with less 5
noulting. Yearlings and two-year-old :
lens are better if started with artif- !
ial lights in January, and the method t
S not us profitable as with pullets. 1t :
S considered a questionable practice i
0 turn lights on culled hens to stimu- 2
ate egg production. In New Jersey, s
here the largest amount of work has /
cen done with artificial lighting, it is t
bought better to sell the culls and buy t
God birds. c
Artificial lights should be suspended n
rom the ceiling so that the entire floor a
pace is lighted If the roosting closet 5
artiton casts a shadow on the roosts, O
he chickens will go to sleep in the t
haQow.
Results in New Jersey show that in
eneral the use of lights nearly doubles i
reduction during the period of high q
rices of eggs and greatly increases the a
sual net return over the cost Of lights v
nd feed in the lighted pens. The r
GIFTED flock showed better health than p
lie unlighted ones, and the subsequent Il
wing was as good among the birds =
hich had had winter lights as with a
ny Of the birds.