What Type of Lighting Should I Use?

A Little Poultry Biology First

Light is one of the most important factors influencing egg production.

Chickens don't just detect light through their eyes. They also have specialised light receptors in the pineal gland and hypothalamus, allowing light to directly influence hormone production, behaviour and their natural daily rhythm.

These receptors control the bird's circadian rhythm—the 24-hour biological clock responsible for sleeping, feeding, laying and overall health.

Unlike humans, who have three colour receptors (red, green and blue), chickens have four. This allows them to detect a much wider range of light wavelengths, making the quality and colour of lighting far more important than many people realise.

Why Red Spectrum Light Matters

For laying hens, the red spectrum of light is essential.

Research has consistently shown that hens exposed to warm, red-spectrum lighting produce more eggs than birds kept under blue, green or cool white lighting.

Red wavelengths penetrate the skull more effectively, stimulating the hypothalamus—the gland responsible for regulating the hormones that control sexual maturity and egg production.

Simply put...

The correct light spectrum helps your hens lay more eggs.

Lighting Duration

For maximum egg production, laying hens require 15 to 16 hours of total daylight every day.

This is where the ChickenMaster PRO makes all the difference.

Using its exclusive Daylight Length Requirement (DLR) feature, the ChickenMaster PRO automatically calculates the natural daylight available at your exact geographic location using Latitude and Longitude.

If natural daylight is shorter than your programmed setting, the ChickenMaster PRO automatically switches on artificial lighting for exactly the right amount of time to achieve your desired daylight length.

There are:

  • No timers to adjust.
  • No seasonal clock changes.
  • No guesswork.

Your hens receive the optimum amount of daylight every day of the year, helping maintain consistent egg production.

So What Type of Lighting Should I Use?

For laying hens, always use Warm White LED lighting with a colour temperature between 2700K and 3000K.

We recommend:

  • Warm White LEDs
  • Approximately 10 Watts per fitting
  • Colour temperature between 2700K–3000K

Never use Cool White LEDs or lighting above 3600K.

Cool lighting lacks the red spectrum needed to properly stimulate egg production and can reduce laying performance.

How Many Lights Will I Need?

The number of lights required depends on the size of your poultry house or mobile trailer.

As a general guide:

A 10-metre Chicken Trailer or Caravan requires approximately 60 Watts of lighting.

This is typically achieved using:

  • Three 10-Watt Warm White LED lights on each side
  • Six 10-Watt LED lights in total

Even, shadow-free lighting provides the best environment for your laying hens.

FarmTronics 10-Watt LED Lights

Our specially selected FarmTronics 10-Watt Warm LED Lights have been chosen to provide the ideal colour spectrum and brightness for laying hens.

Designed specifically for poultry applications, they perfectly complement the ChickenMaster PRO lighting system.

New LD Light Dimmer Module

The LD Light Dimmer Module adds another level of automation to your poultry operation.

Instead of lights switching instantly on or off, the LD Module gradually:

  • Ramps the lights up at sunrise.
  • Fades the lights down at sunset.

When combined with the ChickenMaster PRO's Geographic Sunrise and Sunset feature, your hens experience a smooth, natural transition between night and day.

This gradual lighting change reduces stress, minimises disturbance to normal flock behaviour and creates a more natural environment.

The result is calmer birds, improved welfare, better egg quality and more consistent production.

The LD Light Dimmer Module is the perfect finishing touch for anyone wanting to provide the most natural lighting environment possible while maximising the performance of their laying hens.

The right light spectrum
The right daylight length
The most natural sunrise and sunset

That's the ChickenMaster PRO advantage.