Winter lighting needs.

[fhdogs]

Hey guys, I'm wrapping up the final plans for my coop that I'll be building this coming week.

I'd like to including lighting for the short winter days so that I can try to keep egg production up. How bright do I need to have things in there? I'm planning to purchase a solar array for power at the coop since I'll need to power an automatic feeder for my pig and possibly a small heater. My house is already underpowered so I can't risk running power to the coop.

I need to make sure I calculate the light(s) into the requirements for the system. This way I can make sure I have plenty of battery power at all times.

Thanks

 

[Ridgerunner]

As one very knowledgeable member of this forum likes to say, light enough to read a newspaper by. A University of Arkansas Ag professor said for most "hobby" flocks, a 4 watt night light is plenty. He breeds chickens for show, so he probably knows what he is talking about.