Free range hens follow their normal life rythms without lights in sheds

Maintaining egg production on a free range farm is often challenging.As with many real farms, we are affected by daily weather patterns and the seasons. Egg production has been dropping here in recent weeks because of the drop in daylight hours. to consistently lay eggs, hens need about 14 hours of daylight and 8 hours of darkness when they're roosting. Once less than 12 hours of daylight is available, egg productions slows down considerably if not ceases completely. Some people think colder weather causes the decrease in egg-laying, but even chickens in warm climates produce fewer eggs once daylight hours decline. Big producers maintain egg laying numbers by installing lights in sheds to trick the hens into keeping on eating and laying eggs/ We prefer to allow our hens to follow their normal rythms of life. This issue is the reason for the development of intensive systems with hens locked in climate-controlled sheds (whether or not in cages).Clearly,the intensive system is far more cost-effective and profitable,especially for the crooks who label those eggs as free range and charge a premium.