Short answer: Pullets and layers respond to day length, so light should be planned rather than switched on when you remember. Keep rearing light short and steady, add it gradually to reach about 16 hours near point of lay, and never cut hours once laying has started. Because power cuts are common, a timer with battery backup is part of the programme, not an extra.
Key takeaways
- Keep pullets on a short, steady day during rearing, so they do not mature before their bodies are ready.
- Add light in small steps of 30 to 60 minutes a week, never in one big leap.
- Aim for about 16 hours of total light at point of lay, and hold that figure through production.
- Never reduce the lit hours once laying has started, because production usually falls when you do.
- Plan for power cuts with a timer that keeps its settings and a backup source of power.
What light does to a growing pullet
A pullet's reproductive system is switched on by day length. As the days lengthen, the signals that bring a hen into lay become stronger. If young birds get too much light too early, they can begin laying before their body is ready. The result is small eggs, a short laying cycle and more problems later in the flock. If they get too little light at the right time, they lay late and the first months of production are lost.
The aim of a lighting programme is to bring the pullet to point of lay at the right weight and maturity, and then keep her lit at the right level while she lays. That is why rearing and laying need separate plans. Rearing is about restraint. Laying is about steady, adequate light. Both depend on the breed, so the supplier's breed guide should be your first reference for the exact weeks and hours.
Reading day length from Ghana's sun
Ghana sits close to the equator, so the length of the natural day barely shifts over the year. In the Central Region, where Kasoa is, daylight usually runs for about 12 hours, give or take a few minutes in either direction. That is a useful fact, because it means you cannot rely on the seasons to mark the change from rearing to laying in the way a temperate farmer can. You have to set the schedule yourself.
Natural light still matters, though. A house with open sides lets daylight in, and in the early and late parts of the day the birds may see more light than your timer provides. Count the natural light when you plan, and note how far it reaches into the house. A house with curtains or solid walls needs the artificial programme to do all the work.
The rearing phase: a short and steady day
Chicks need plenty of light at first, mainly so they can find feed and water. Most programmes give 20 to 23 hours of light in the first few days, in a warm and well-set brooder. Over the first week or so, reduce the light gradually towards a steady rearing day, rather than cutting it in one step. Sudden changes stress the birds and can increase feather pecking.
Through the main rearing period, many programmes hold the day at about 8 to 10 hours. The point is consistency. Once the chicks are on a steady day, leave it alone, and do not add an extra hour because the house looks dark on a cloudy morning. A fixed rearing day is one of the simplest ways to keep pullets from maturing early, and it costs nothing but discipline.
The step-up: adding light in small steps
Somewhere in the later rearing period, the programme starts to step up. Most keepers begin around the eighth or ninth week, when the birds have good body weight and the flock is settled. From that point, add light gradually, usually 30 to 60 minutes a week, until the total day reaches about 16 hours near point of lay. Keep a written schedule with the date and the total hours on it, so that the increase is applied without skipping or repeating a step.
Step-ups should follow the flock, not the calendar alone. If the pullets are underweight or the flock is unsettled, hold the current day for a week longer rather than pushing ahead. Uniformity matters too. A flock that starts laying across a narrow window is easier to manage than one that spreads out over several weeks, and a steady step-up helps you get there.
The timetable for pullets and layers
The table below gives the general shape of a layer programme for Ghana. The exact weeks and hours depend on the strain, so treat the figures as a framework and check them against the breed guide that came with your chicks. The strains we supply are described on our layer chicks page, and for exact timing, follow the breed guide from the strain's supplier.
| Stage | Total light, roughly | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1 to 7 | 20 to 23 hours | Brood warm and bright, then start to reduce |
| Early rearing, about week 2 to week 8 | 8 to 10 hours, held steady | No increases; keep the day constant |
| From about week 8 or 9 | Rising 30 to 60 minutes a week | Step up on a written schedule |
| About weeks 16 to 17 | Around 14 hours | Final stages of pre-lay growth |
| Point of lay, about weeks 18 to 20 | About 16 hours | Hold this figure through production |
Notice that the rise is gradual at every stage. The hens reach 16 hours at about the time they should be laying, not earlier. If the flock is ahead or behind, adjust the timing of the steps, not the final figure.
Early lay and what it costs you
Early lay is one of the most expensive mistakes in a layer house, and it is easy to make. A keeper who lights the house too early or steps up too fast gets eggs sooner, but they are often small, and the birds have not built the body they need to sustain a full laying cycle. Early layers can also suffer more from prolapse and from stress on the reproductive tract. The early eggs look like a win on the first week's record and turn into a loss over the whole flock life.
Look for early lay in the flock before it becomes a crisis. Eggs that are smaller than the breed standard, a sudden drop in body weight, or hens that start laying while still looking like pullets are all signs. If you see them, ask your vet or a poultry adviser to look at the flock and check the timing of the programme. Do not try to fix early lay by cutting the light, because that brings its own problems.
Never cutting the light once laying starts
Once a flock is in production, keep the total day steady. Reducing the lit hours is one of the most reliable ways to drop your egg count, because the hens respond to shorter days by slowing down. Many keepers reduce the light in the belief that it saves electricity. In practice the saving is small, and the cost in eggs is far larger. If you need to change a running programme for a real reason, such as a fault in the power system, make the change slowly and tell your vet or adviser.
Keep the dark period protected as well. Hens need a proper rest, and a house that is not fully dark through the night can disturb them. Check the walls, the doors and the ventilation openings for light leaks, and use curtains or blackout material where needed. A house that looks dark to you can still be bright enough at night to affect a hen's sleep.
Bulbs, intensity and where to place them
Light intensity matters less than day length, but it still matters. Laying hens do not need a bright workshop. A level of roughly 10 to 20 lux at bird height is often enough for good laying, and birds that are kept in a very bright house can become restless and peck one another. The aim is light you can see the birds in comfortably, spread evenly across the house, not hot spots under individual lamps.
LED lamps are the usual choice now because they give good light for little heat and use less power. Place the lamps so the light reaches the feeding and drinking areas and the floor. Keep them away from the feed and from any wet area where dust or water can get on them. Check them regularly, and keep spares, because a single failed lamp can leave a dark patch that confuses birds at the start of the day.
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Timers and backup for a grid that cuts out
Power interruptions are a fact of life in many parts of Ghana. A programme that depends on someone switching the lights on and off by hand will fail sooner or later. Use a timer, digital or mechanical, that keeps its settings through a short interruption, and check that it is set correctly each time the power returns. If your house has no backup, a battery or generator setup is a serious consideration, because a long outage in the dark period is less damaging than one in the light period, but both still disrupt the flock.
Pay attention to what happens when the power comes back in the middle of the night. Lights that switch on suddenly in a dark house can start a flock moving and crowding, which causes injuries and sometimes smothering. Some keepers use a timer that holds the dark period firmly, or they check the house after each outage. Write down every outage and the time it happened, so you can explain any dip in production later.
Hot months and the heat from lights
The hot months before the rains are when many layer houses in southern Ghana run hottest, and lighting adds to the load. Older incandescent bulbs give off a lot of heat, which can push a house beyond the comfortable range. LEDs release far less heat for the same light, which is one more reason to switch. Keep the lights to the programmed hours and do not leave them on in the daytime to make the house feel brighter.
Heat also cuts feed intake, and a bird that eats less has less energy left for eggs, even when the light is right. In hot weather, provide plenty of clean, cool water, improve airflow with fans or openings where possible, and check the birds at the hottest part of the day. If the flock is panting, going off feed or laying badly in the heat, call your vet to look at the house and how it is managed.
Turning the principles into a timetable
Once you have the principles, write a timetable for your own house. Start with the arrival date of the chicks and work forward week by week. Mark the dates when the day is held, when it steps up, and when it reaches 16 hours. Put the lamp switch-on and switch-off times on the same sheet, and keep the sheet on the house wall. A timetable on the wall is easy for a worker to follow, and it is much easier to check than a set of memories.
Check the programme every week against the flock. Look at the weight, the feed intake, the state of the house and the egg record. A programme that looks right on paper but produces underweight pullets needs an adjustment. Keep a note of each change and the reason, so that the next flock starts from a better plan. Chick costs matter too, and our starting chick prices are listed on our prices page, confirmed per order. For the money side of the layer business, our layer egg profit calculator helps you see how production affects income.
Questions that come up after the first flock
The first flock teaches the most, and most keepers come back with questions. Many want to know whether the lighting can be shifted to suit the feed or labour, and the answer is usually that the programme follows the birds, not the workday. Others ask whether they can use the same programme for a different strain, and the answer is that each strain has its own figures. Check with the supplier before you copy a timetable from another farm.
If you are sourcing chicks, our imported day-old chicks page explains the supply side, and our breeds page compares the lines. For delivery to your region, see day-old chicks delivery in Ghana. Our FAQ page covers ordering questions, and the blog has other practical notes for layer keepers.
Questions farmers ask
What total light do laying hens need here?
Most layer programmes aim for about 16 hours of total light per day at point of lay, held through production. The figure depends on the strain, so check the breed guide. Natural daylight in Ghana is about 12 hours, so artificial light covers the rest.
When should I start the light programme for pullets?
Begin with bright, warm light in the first days, then reduce to a steady short day in the early rearing period. Start the step-up around the eighth or ninth week, and reach about 16 hours near point of lay. Follow the breed guide for exact weeks.
Will extra light make my hens lay more?
Only up to the point the hens are ready. Extra light before the birds are mature causes early lay, which gives small eggs and weakens the flock. Once the hens are laying, holding 16 hours steady is what supports good production.
How do I handle a power cut at night?
Use a timer that keeps its settings and a backup source where you can. Log each outage with its time and duration, and check the house afterwards. If the lights come on suddenly in the dark period, check the flock for crowding or injuries.
Can I reduce the light to save electricity?
It is tempting, but the saving is small compared with the drop in egg output that often follows. Reducing lit hours during production usually costs more than it saves. If you have a real need to change the programme, do it slowly and talk to your vet or adviser first.
Do I need bright lights in a layer house?
No. A moderate level of light, roughly 10 to 20 lux at bird height, is often enough for good laying. Very bright houses can make birds restless. Aim for even light across the feeding and drinking areas rather than strong spots.
