LED lighting brings a rise in egg production

LED lighting has been linked to an increase of 6.1% in layer production at a Powys free-range egg farm, an uplift worth £27,192 a year to the 16,000-bird business.

- STAFF REPORTER

Third-generation farmer George Wozencraft produces eggs from a flock of Burford Brown hens at Glanalders, Nantmel, to supply Stonegate under its Clarence Court brand.

As part of his project work with a Farming Connect Our Farms programme, the influence of lighting on flock performance has been investigated.

George replaced 54 2ft strip lights with three lines of 48V/9.6W warm white LED lights, 105 lights in total, when he depopulated a flock from the shed in March 2024.

A new flock of 16-week-old hens was introduced to the shed the following month.

During the first eight weeks of their laying cycle, the lighting was on for 10 hours in every 24, increasing to 14.5 for the remainder of the 78-week cycle.