Light or Night

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Littlefishnboo

Littlefishnboo

Hatching
Sep 9, 2015
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Hello everyone,
I have a question. As winter is approaching, the days are getting shorter. Along with that, the egg production of hens go down. In order to prevent this, I would like to purchase a night light of sorts to light up my coop from about 6-8 at night and 6 till dawn. This is to help keep their natural sleep cycle and what not the same. Does any one own or has bought a lamp/light with a solar panel? I would like to save on energy... My coop is very large and all inside, although one whole wall is chicken wire. Any ideas?
 
You don't need much light. I think I used a 40w bulb for the extra light. I've heard others use even less, like 25w. There are solar units or there, but I haven't used one. If you are wanting extra light to encourage steadier egg production, you'll need more light than that. You need a total of 14-16 hours of light, whether natural or supplemental.
 
Agreed... to continue to lay, it would need to be more light, and more "natural" spectrums .. For example, a cool type 60w incandescent is not going to put out the same light as a 60w warm one... Fluorescent lighting is safe and energy efficient, and its quite easy to mix and match the bulbs to get a good combination of wavelengths and lumens to mimic sunlight...

Think grow lights :) uv/uvb lighting... natural sunlight lamps for people who suffer from seasonal depression use the same theory :)
 
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I use to use compact fluorescent warm light bulb that was equivalent to 60w. Worked like a charm. and only used 14w of power. Put on a timer and have it turn on early a.m. then off after sunrise. I went with 12 hours total light not the 14 hour used by commercial industry. With the light on 5 am and off 8 am each day it was plenty of added lighting to keep the pullets in full lay until Feb then the cold from January had taken it's toll and still not letting up. They'd basically slow down then stop to start back up come the warming of March.

No reason you can't use a newer style LED light bulb for even more efficiency. Check out the light spectrum and as Shortgrass mentioned if it's a good wavelength to grow plants it's good for the chickens.
 
You can just use one of those cheap solar powered garden lights. They have a little solar panel on top, wired into a rechargeable battery, connected to a tiny LED that is plenty bright for a small coop. You can easily disassemble the thing and extend the wires.
 
I do not think the spectrum matters as it's actually the length of the dark/light cycle is perceived by the pineal gland(not the eyes) and stimulates the pituitary gland to keep laying production up. Pretty good article here by avian vet.

They just need to be able to see to move around and eat/drink.
Old fluorescent ballasts have a slow flicker rate and can screw up a chickens eyes / brain.
I use a CFL, timed to come on early mornings only to get 14 hours, and like that it comes on slowly instead of BAM.
 
aart said:
I do not think the spectrum matters as it's actually the length of thedark/light cycle is perceived by the pineal gland(not the eyes) and stimulates the pituitary gland to keep laying production up. Pretty good article here by avian vet.

They just need to be able to see to move around and eat/drink.
Old fluorescent ballasts have a slow flicker rate and can screw up a chickens eyes / brain.
I use a CFL, timed to come on early mornings only to get 14 hours, and like that it comes on slowly instead of BAM.
Click to expand...


Spectrum will increase lumens without using more energy...cooler spectrum, you can gain a 40% increase in lumens using the same wattage... Spectrum WILL make a difference if its natural daylight we're trying to mimic, rather than just "light" to see by... You'll get more eggs in theory ;)

Just from my personal experience, it does seem to make a difference in production, and if you've got a ton of chickens, saving energy by switching to a better producing lumen could cut costs significantly :)
 
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I only use 40w in the morning, on timer from 5-8 am. More like logistic for me to be able clean the poop boards and feed them before I head to work. I like them to have day/night cycle yet they laid eggs thru out the winter.
 
@aart...lol my light theory caused quite the discussion here at home.... I had to go ask the DH about it; he's the brain on the lighting issue... And he told me, in a way lol, that my theory is flawed...

I forgot that they were different BREEDS. :p

What we decided lol, was that it wasn't a specrum OR a lumen thing, but the HEAT. It was keeping the temps 20 degrees warmer, and THAT is what induced them to keep laying. His theory being that chickens that get daylight already during normal light wont need additional UV light, just supplemental for the 4 hours that's missing.. The warmth is what triggered them to keep going...

We were talking industrial versus backyard though... A giant enclosed barn where they never see the light of day would be the situation calling for proper wavelengths...


Lol see, I don't just derail threads in here, I do it at home too :D
 
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