Chickens Prefer Attractive People
The barnyard bird is a lot smarter than you think.
We know the importance of having a little light to get through the dark days of winter.
It's important for chickens, too.
When Danielle Smith asked, “Why do chickens need a lot of hours of light to lay eggs?” we checked in with some poultry professionals.
Hens are "photo-stimulated," which means they require light to produce eggs, says Claudia Dunkley, a poultry scientist at the University of Georgia.
After being exposed to 12 hours of natural or artificial light, the chicken's hypothalamus causes the release of a reproductive hormone that spurs egg laying. The hormone, gonadotropin, is the same one that kickstarts the human reproductive cycle. (Also read how a rooster knows to crow at dawn.)
In winter, when there's less daylight, birds
