Artificial coop lighting, show your setups

[res]

LED "C9" style Christmas lights strung up in the ceiling. No fire danger as they do not get hot. The LED bulbs are actually little "button" style bulbs, covered in a big heavy plastic "C9" type shield for light disbursement and asthetics. They make my 8x10 coop very bright.

They are plugged in to a timer - normal household vacation timer. Set to come on at about 3am and off at 9am or so.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

I was not aware that people used Christmas lights. That's really cool! Thanks for the picture too.

 

[Original Recipe]

I don't have pics either, but I can certainly take some tomorrow if you'd like to see them. My coop is a tractor and I'm not interested in running permanent electric out to it so I'm on an extension cord. Inside the coop I installed a standard 125v 15 amp outlet in a plastic outlet box. I cut the male end off of a 12 ga outdoor rated extension cord along with about 6" of cord. This short drop hangs out the bottom of the box and you simply run an extension cord inside and plug it in to energize the outlet. I then have a run of the same 12 ga cord running out the top of the box that runs along the wall and out through the eve into the enclosed run where another outlet and box is installed on the underside of the roof. Both outlets are hot whenever the cord is plugged in. Next I installed two porcelain light sockets in plastic ceiling boxes, one in the run and one in the coop. Both of these are wired with lamp cords that run to the outlet inside the coop. I have two digital timers plugged into this outlet (got the timers in a twin pack for $10 at Lowes). The lights both plug into the timers and run on slightly different schedules. There is a plain white 60 watt in the outdoor run and a red 40 watt in the coop. Both come on right before dusk, the one in the run shuts off at 8:00 PM and the one in the coop shuts off at 9:00 PM. The outlet in the run is used to run the water de-icer and will also be used to run a string of Christmas lights when I decorate for the holidays. I was given a box of spare cords at work that were from commercial sewer machines. One cord is 50' long and is pretty heavy duty. It also has a built in ground fault (GFCI) unit on the end. This is the cord I'm using to run out to the coop. Everything seems to be working perfect and I know everything is wired properly and not overloaded so I have great confidence in my girl's safety.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

I don't have pics either, but I can certainly take some tomorrow if you'd like to see them. My coop is a tractor and I'm not interested in running permanent electric out to it so I'm on an extension cord. Inside the coop I installed a standard 125v 15 amp outlet in a plastic outlet box. I cut the male end off of a 12 ga outdoor rated extension cord along with about 6" of cord. This short drop hangs out the bottom of the box and you simply run an extension cord inside and plug it in to energize the outlet. I then have a run of the same 12 ga cord running out the top of the box that runs along the wall and out through the eve into the enclosed run where another outlet and box is installed on the underside of the roof. Both outlets are hot whenever the cord is plugged in. Next I installed two porcelain light sockets in plastic ceiling boxes, one in the run and one in the coop. Both of these are wired with lamp cords that run to the outlet inside the coop. I have two digital timers plugged into this outlet (got the timers in a twin pack for $10 at Lowes). The lights both plug into the timers and run on slightly different schedules. There is a plain white 60 watt in the outdoor run and a red 40 watt in the coop. Both come on right before dusk, the one in the run shuts off at 8:00 PM and the one in the coop shuts off at 9:00 PM. The outlet in the run is used to run the water de-icer and will also be used to run a string of Christmas lights when I decorate for the holidays. I was given a box of spare cords at work that were from commercial sewer machines. One cord is 50' long and is pretty heavy duty. It also has a built in ground fault (GFCI) unit on the end. This is the cord I'm using to run out to the coop. Everything seems to be working perfect and I know everything is wired properly and not overloaded so I have great confidence in my girl's safety.

Sounds awesome! I would love to see pictures. I love tractor coops but for our size acreage it isn't the most practical. If I got more property I would have lots of tractor coops though. How close is the tractor coop from your house and do you move it very often?

 

[jjackson-7]

My light is pretty basic. White lightbulb in a brooder heater on a timer. The same as many other posters', but i just wanted to say I only ad light in the morning. I would rather have the girls suddenly awakened by light then it suddenly be dark. As it gets darker they slowly find their way to the roosts and shuffle for the best spots. Gives everyone time to settle in.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

My light is pretty basic. White lightbulb in a brooder heater on a timer. The same as many other posters', but i just wanted to say I only ad light in the morning. I would rather have the girls suddenly awakened by light then it suddenly be dark. As it gets darker they slowly find their way to the roosts and shuffle for the best spots. Gives everyone time to settle in.

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

My lighting isn't working as well as I should like. I got three eggs today. :/

 

[trooper]

I don't have any pictures at this time but I'll get some and show.I have my lights on a timer and they come on in the morning at about 5 or so. I have two coops and I run both of them off of the same timer.I hard wired the light sockets and ran the wire into a good quality male electrical plug.I have a receptacle at the plug with a timer and the timer is plugged into the receptacle and the lights are plugged into the timer.I have this attached to a stud with wire ties to hold this stable.This is all wired with 12/2 wiring .
The problem I have is that my egg production dropped big time with the lights coming on.I think that it is because they can't get outside until daylight and they are under stress.I don't know what's happening so if anyone has any ideas please let me know.They have plenty food and plenty water.

 

[Campesina]

I gave my girls some time off... no light to encourage them.
For Christmas, my PR gave me an egg!!! (actually 4 eggs in 5 days)
Yesterday my BO gave me a nice big egg.
I love my girls and love Backyardchickens.com. !!!

 

[eggsellentfarms]

I have no pics of my set up, but rather than be faced with moving and disconnecting electric lines when the weather is rainy or even damp, I sucked it up and ran romex from the house underground to the coop with stops along the way. The coop is actually a pvc or plastic storage building. I installed handy box at one end of the inside top and attached heat lamp at other end of the top. Then added weatherproof switch to outside of run (mistake). I leave the heat lamp on 24/7 unless the temp is above 50. Hens come and go thru slightly open door. I have had chicks less than a year so lots of learning still on the horizon.

You really shouldn't need to leave a heat lamp on, especially being down south. Once your birds are fully feathered they should be fine. Unless the breed you have is not at all cold hardy, or you have a rare extreme cold spell. Not that I'm saying it's bad, but it is a big waste of energy and potential fire hazard.