The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1927-10-28
Artificial Lighting Means
More Eggs, Better Birds
Makes Increased Production Too at That Time of Year
When Hens Are Apt To Lie Down on the Job
Lighting Arrangements are Most Important

/ the movies or to some other social
gathering.
The second system is getting
more popular all the time, for 1t
consists of turning the lights on
every morning at 4.30 to 5, letting
them run until daylight. This can
be done with automatic clocks OF
by use of a switch by the poultry
mans bedside SO that he doesn't
have to get up and go out to the
coops at that early hour.
The third system, and this, by
the way, is the artificial system
practised here in New Jersey, is
the morning and night lights in
which the lights are turned on az
6 o'clock in the morning and al
lowed to run until daylight, anG
then turned ON at duck and allowed
to run until o'clock.
These are the three systems and
with each has to go a special feed
ing system. For any of the systems
you may get commercial time
clocks which will turn the lights
on and off at a special time. Many
poultrymen have built their own
automatic clocks with the use OF
an old ararm clock and some HOOK
up from the winding key to an
electric switch, and many ingeni-
Gus and different combinations
have been made that worked salts.
tactorily So you can have lights
without tying you down too much.
HI the beginning we emphasized
that the use of lights was feed
ing problem. Therefore, no matter
what system you use be sure ana
see that there is feed there for the
birds to eat when they get up or
more harm will be done than good.
And by feed we mean not only
three or four extra pounds Oh
scratch, but also mash in the bop
pers and water in the pans.
May Be Used on All Ages of Birds
The questions that rise in many
pounltrymen's minds are: What
birds can we use lights on, when
should we start and when shiulG
we stop? You can use lights on ali
ages of birds and just when you
start them or when you stop them
depends entirely upon the age OF
the birds you have. Many poultry
men have been lighting their early
Matched pullets since early in Sep
TENDER and now have them laying
around fifty per cent and keeping
their body weight up. By this
system they hope to be able to
carry the birds through the winter
or through December, anyway,
without a moult.
Many of these same poultrymer
have been using lights on their Ole
hens right along and those birds
that will not be saved as breeders
will be lighted until they are SOLD.
For those intended for breeding
purposes the lights should be turned
off November l, thus throwing
them into a moult and giving them
a two-month period to rest before
the breeding season starts, when
the lights should be put on again,
which will be approximately jan
uary l.
The late-hatched birds ought to
be housed by now and as soon as
they are put in the house the la,-
ter should be lighted. for lights
will enable the underweight bus
fully developed pullets to put on
the necessary weight and will:
hurry some of the backward pub
let's along to maturity.
Once the lights are started great
care must be taken that they will
be turned on each night at exactly
the same time, for if this system il
broken and lights are missing for
a couple of nights very often the
birds are thrown into a moult and
production suffers. So if you starr
with lights. keep at it and keep the
lights on until spring automatically
brings the length Of day back to
what you have been making it.