How much light is enough?

[bonder]

I know I don't NEED supplemental light but... I really want some eggs so I'm trying it out. My question is how much light in the coop is enough? My chickens all roost in the evening even with the extra light on. Hubby thought maybe they needed a brighter light but they are still roosting. Is the extra light supposed to keep them awake or does it just work internally without them being awake? It's only 6:30 PM here and dark as midnight so they are already roosting for the night.
Thanks!

 

[Imp]

Quote:
The light does not need to be very bright. I use a small CFB. The equivalent to a 40 watt.
They need about 14 hours a day.
And it won't keep them awake.

Imp-I've never thought about them sleeping with the light on. You came up with something new to ponder.

 

[justbugged]

I have my light on a timer so that it comes on in the mornings before daylight. As Imp mentioned they need about 14 hours a day in order to lay. A timer should reduce the cost of running a light all the time, or hit and miss lighting. I use a CF bulb also, and it doesn't take much for them to get enough light. I look for and use daylight or sunshine types of light bulbs, I really don't like soft white light bulbs. I think that the day light and or sunshine bulbs have a greater light spectrum than do the soft white kind of bulbs.