I started turning the lights on in our coop by timer at 6:00am around the end of August before the days got less than 14 hours long. I get up early and it is dark out, so I like to see what I'm doing while out there gathering eggs and doing chores. Now that it is getting darker in the evenings, I have added light from 6 pm until 8pm also.
Remember lights are a personal choice for you, to be able to extend the laying cycle, and get eggs in winter. What is really more important for the chickens sake during this time, is to provide them with a safe, dry, well ventilated, draft free, coop. If you want to continue to get eggs through the winter without a slowdown or complete stoppage, you will need to provide light not necessarily heat, as this is what drives their laying cycles.
A real danger of the cold to chickens is frostbite on their toes and combs, often caused by too much moisture in the coop while they roost, and or not providing adequate roosts so they can cover their feet when the temps drop into the teens and below. They're bodies work hard to stay warm and a good feed source and fresh unfrozen water given free choice will give them what they need to stay healthy in the cold. If they are hungry, they will get cold too, and this leads to stress, and illness. Wind chill can be a factor also if the coop is excessively drafty. We had some semi-feral banty type chickens that used to roost up 100 feet in our white pines in subzero temps and they would suffer severe frost bite.
If you do provide heat to chickens in temperate climates to make yourself feel better, and they get acclimated to it, be sure if the power goes out you have a back up plan. Sudden changes in temp could be dangerous.Different climates require different insurances so your chickens will be safe in winter.
Here in Boise, it rarely gets super cold. I plan on having a back up plan in place( to use the brooder light if need be at night with a red bulb for warmth)if the temps dip down below 15-20F at night. I am going to replace my 2x2 roosts with 2x4''s layed out flat so they have a 4" surface to squat on and cover their feet. I am also going to build a popcorn tin heater base to heat a galvanized metal water font for winter, and cover three sides of one end of their outside run for a wind/snow/rain break to encourage them to go outside more while cooped up.
The rope lights I have in my coop do not provide significant heat, they are simply in place to provide a safe light source( ie no open bulbs in a small coop space). My run is also covered and we put a string of the rope lights out there too since that is where the chickens go first thing to drink and eat in the morning darkness.
Remember lights are a personal choice for you, to be able to extend the laying cycle, and get eggs in winter. What is really more important for the chickens sake during this time, is to provide them with a safe, dry, well ventilated, draft free, coop. If you want to continue to get eggs through the winter without a slowdown or complete stoppage, you will need to provide light not necessarily heat, as this is what drives their laying cycles.
A real danger of the cold to chickens is frostbite on their toes and combs, often caused by too much moisture in the coop while they roost, and or not providing adequate roosts so they can cover their feet when the temps drop into the teens and below. They're bodies work hard to stay warm and a good feed source and fresh unfrozen water given free choice will give them what they need to stay healthy in the cold. If they are hungry, they will get cold too, and this leads to stress, and illness. Wind chill can be a factor also if the coop is excessively drafty. We had some semi-feral banty type chickens that used to roost up 100 feet in our white pines in subzero temps and they would suffer severe frost bite.
If you do provide heat to chickens in temperate climates to make yourself feel better, and they get acclimated to it, be sure if the power goes out you have a back up plan. Sudden changes in temp could be dangerous.Different climates require different insurances so your chickens will be safe in winter.
Here in Boise, it rarely gets super cold. I plan on having a back up plan in place( to use the brooder light if need be at night with a red bulb for warmth)if the temps dip down below 15-20F at night. I am going to replace my 2x2 roosts with 2x4''s layed out flat so they have a 4" surface to squat on and cover their feet. I am also going to build a popcorn tin heater base to heat a galvanized metal water font for winter, and cover three sides of one end of their outside run for a wind/snow/rain break to encourage them to go outside more while cooped up.
The rope lights I have in my coop do not provide significant heat, they are simply in place to provide a safe light source( ie no open bulbs in a small coop space). My run is also covered and we put a string of the rope lights out there too since that is where the chickens go first thing to drink and eat in the morning darkness.
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