Chickens lighting to help with laying

[rudolph10]

Hi
I am new to the Backyard Chickens . Live in So Cal so don't have extreme cold to deal with in the winter. But with the time change approaching I know that the chickens need so many hours of daylight in order to lay so I am wondering what kind of lighting works best soft or warm for their daylight . We have 3 Rhode Island Reds and they have been laying since the end of July . Any information that I get would be helpful on this subject. Thanks a lot
Rudolph10

 

[liz9910]

I have never put lighting in my coop in the winter so I'm not sure of the answer, however I think you should post in this forum for best results: https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/18/chicken-behaviors-and-egglaying good luck to you!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Nice article on winter lighting http://www.hort.purdue.edu/tristate_organic/poultry_2007/Light Management.pdf you need to use a "warm" bulb http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~mdarre/poultrypages/light_inset.html This one goes into the gory technical aspects of lighting. Basically you just want a "warm" (usually incandescent) type light bulb, not one of the ones that is labeled as "cool". If you look at the bulb box it should say what it is on the back of the box, usually there is a section under "lighting Facts per bulb" called something like "Light Appearance" with a number or graph like 2700K (happens to be on the box I have here).

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Some chickens will lay throughout the winter without extra lighting. So see how they do first. Just keep in mind that a chicken is born with a certain amount of yolks. So forcing the laying will cause them to run out of yolks faster than if left to lay on their own.

Enjoy your chickens and welcome our flock!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. You've received some good advice and I agree with TwoCrows about the supplemental lighting. I raised chickens California's northern Sacramento Valley for seven years and never needed any supplemental lighting. I had some good laying breeds (Black Australorps, Buff Orpingtons, Barred Rocks) like you do with your RIRs and they should lay just fine without the extra lighting. Just make certain that they get plenty of sunlight during the day. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in getting lots of eggs.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help

I also agree with Two Crows and Michael.

 

[appps]

Not a fan of forced laying, they have already been bred to lay far more than would be natural, I accept less eggs in winter as their bodies getting a bit of time to recover ready for the warmer months. Only my personal opinion, each is entitled to their own

On the light side you can buy daylight bulbs at most light stores which are the same colour temperature as natural daylight. Just ask for a daylight balanced. My "guess" would be if you plan to simulate daylight that would be a good place to start. If you were in one of those areas with super short daylight hours (like Alaska?) they also make bulbs that also give off uv light to replace daylight but they are something you would get at a Petshop.

 

[LIChickens]

Welcome to BYC!

You will find a lot of good information here. Keep on asking questions and you will get many good answers.

You may also want to read the FAQ below.