Do you light your coop at night?

[HeatherTheMommy]

I have a red light in my coop that comes on at 7pm so the chickens will goin for the night and turns off at 7am. Should i not leave it on all night? Do you light your coops?

 

[DanEP]

No chickens need dark just like people do. If your chickens have been in your coop for a while they shouldn't need the light to go to roost either, they will do it on their own at dusk.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Added lighting for increased winter laying is usually done by extending the daylight hours in mornings. Artificial light is to wake them up and get metabolisms going not to keep them up all night. When chickens go to roost at night they don't want or need any light. They went to roost, which means sleep. They don't need a night light to get up and pee as they poop right off the roost while sleeping.

 

[HeatherTheMommy]

So when winter hits should I have it kick on in the am?

 

[Rod-T]

Seems 14 hrs of light is the number alot people shoot for.. so in winter if you only get 8 hrs daylight..you need 6 hrs of light in coop.

 

[aart]

Added lighting for increased winter laying is usually done by extending the daylight hours in mornings. Artificial light is to wake them up and get metabolisms going not to keep them up all night. When chickens go to roost at night they don't want or need any light. They went to roost, which means sleep. They don't need a night light to get up and pee as they poop right off the roost while sleeping.

Had an interesting look at this last night....used the override on the timer yesterday, forgot to turn it off and didn't notice until after dark.
Figured the birds would still be up and about eating, drinking, etc.
Nope, they were all hunkered down on the roosts, ready to go to sleep.
I was kind of surprised, but it reaffirmed that the time to add winter lighting is indeed in the early mornings.
I know they get up and around early mornings with the light because I can see them out the window from where I sit right now.....
......and I get up early, with the birds haha...they are eating and roaming around on the roosts that I can see thru the coop windows.