Coop Lighting

[rjackh]

I have ordered a small coop from a local wood shop, and wondering how to run lighting in it. I was thinking of running an extension cord from my patio to the coop, then hooking up a short strand of white christmas lights stapled at the ceiling inside of the coop. The extension cord would be on a timer. Has anyone used christmas lights to provide lighting in the coop?

 

[Mountain Peeps]

I've never used Christmas lights as the light for the chickens but I do use them outside of the coop. Then I have a heat lamp and 40 watt bulb in the coop. I have two outlets on a wall outside the coop. I have an extension cord plugged into one of them which has the heat, waterer and Christmas light plugged into it. The other has the normal light plugged into it.

 

[rjackh]

Would running an extension cord to a securely hung clip on lamp inside the coop be better than a short string of white christmas lights? And by securely hung, I mean that I have seen the picture on here of the coop that burned down because the lamp fell while the owner was out of town.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Would running an extension cord to a securely hung clip on lamp inside the coop be better than a short string of white christmas lights? And by securely hung, I mean that I have seen the picture on here of the coop that burned down because the lamp fell while the owner was out of town.

As long as it is very secure, then yes, it would be better than Christmas lights.

 

[RonP]

There are many reports of coop fires due to improper and/or faulty wiring.

If you are not sure, err on the side of caution and seek professional help and or advise.

That said, Christmas lights have worked very well for many on this list.

 

[TalkALittle]

If you are worried about accidental ignition consider using rope lights. They don't get hot and the bulbs and wires are fully enclosed, protecting them from being pecked at by curious chickens. A bonus is that most sets come with clips to securely hang them. I have an 18ft. long exterior use rope light that I ran along the inside of my coop up where the wall meets the roof. It's plugged into a timer and to an exterior use rated extension cord that runs to a GFCI outlet on my patio. The timer I purchased is also rated for outdoor use and has a switch on it that allows me to switch from "timer mode" to "constant on". The timer is set to go on in the morning for a couple of hours but anytime I need a little light in the coop I can flip the switch and turn the lights on without messing up the timer. I flip it back when I leave and the lights go out and it's back on timer mode.

 

[sumterflfreed]

I put light in my coop tonight when should I turn it off. I put it in because my chicks seemed to huddle near a window that let light come in and I put the light on now they are running around