I know chickens start between 18-22 weeks, just starting week 19. 3 out of 6 of my chicks are starting to show signs that they might be laying soon. Only 1 has recently started to squat. Question is, now that fall is around the corner, and its getting darker sooner should i put some sort of artificial light in the coop, to help them along. I only have one window in the coop, and they have been putting themselves to bed about an hour early. Plus i lock the coop up at night to keep mr raccoon and his buddies out. So i was basically thinking of putting a light on a timer in the coop so it turns on around 6pm and shuts off around 8, this way they get their couple of hours back. If i do, do i need to get a cetain type of light or can i just use an extra florescent light i already have.
I have a 40watt bulb in my hen house. It currrently comes on at 7:30 and off at 10. I will keep putting the time back to turn on and leaving on till same time. Some folks have the light come on in the morning instead. It can get cold where I live so I may have it on at night and back on again in the early morning to warm them up.
