LED lights for winter use in the henhouse

[DrDean]

I am considering installing an LED light in my henhouse on a timer so that my chickens will continue laying over the winter. Does anyone have experience in doing this? I've read that LED light has less red than incandescent bulb light; so I wonder if that might be a problem. My chickens are all about 1.5 years old. In this part of the country, it will need to be on for about 4 hours after dark to reach 14 hours of light a day. I don't want to induce them to pecking each other. The henhouse is about 10' by 9' and I have 19 hens and a rooster. They are outside the henhouse during the day - semi-free range. Thanks!

 

[sunflour]

I don't have experience, I just let nature run it's course. But most who use supplemental light recommend placing a timer to add light before morning and not at early nite so chickens can rest. When they come to roost if you light it up then, then they get sleep disturbance. Adding it before dawn wakes them early.

 

[frg34]

There are lots of threads on here about lighting if you search. I just read through them a couple weeks ago because I was desperate for them to start laying again. Think I read that leds dont give off the proper light spectrum which has proven to benefit egglaying. 2700K-3000K light is most beneficial from what I read. I put a 10 watt 2700k cfl on a timer and worked it over a few days from coming on at 5 am down to 3am (sun up here is now 6am to 5pm) and now run it for 3 hours a day. So a month plus will only be one KWH. And of my 6 hens, 5 are laying now (1 molting) and getting 4-5 eggs a day (was averaging about 1/day with only 2 hens laying just 2 weeks ago before lighting).

 

[ECBW]

Please try and share your finding with us. My guess is it would be OK.

There were lots of people proclaiming the evil of CFL when CFL first came on the scene. I have been using them for years and no problem. I would be interested to hear about LED since it is even more efficient.

 

[bobshere]

I use a 13w daylight led bulb in my 6x6 coop. I have 5 chickens and get 5 eggs a day with the odd day of 4. I'm in northern Ontario and -12c here tonight. They are still laying top notch. My light is on a time and comes on at 2am. Gets dark at 5 here now.

 

[bertgwen]

I have 3 10-watt led outdoor spotlights. One in the coop, one in each section of the run. They come on in the morning early enough to give about 13 hrs total light. I'm getting 2 eggs/day out of three birds.

Very happy with them. Bought them at Amazon for $10 each.

 

[Blueline]

Today I installed an 18' rope light.
Timer has been mastered and set for 6:30 am tomorrow. I even changed their inside roost pole to a 2x4 wide side up, they like that better at the outside roost, seem more comfortable. This is the birds second winter, last winter they layed continuously throughout the winter. Next year we will start the light up September 1st. And probably have four new girls in the flock.

We have been feeding 22% (20% maybe) meat bird crumbles for the past month. A half cup of cat food [higher in protein]; a cup of black oil sunflower seed; and their normal coup of mixed grain goody - they love this stuff

.

Hoping they will start laying by the new year.

Charlie

 

[Amina]

I haven't gotten any eggs for probably a couple months now, so almost a week ago, I got some battery powered christmas led lights and put them on a timer in the coop. Just yesterday, my hen squatted for me, which she hadn't done in a long time! So I don't know for sure yet if the lights will work - I think it's supposed to take a few weeks after the lights go in. But this is a good sign!

 

[Blueline]

Heck yea, that's a good sign! Hope it's just the first of more to come

.

I just got up at 6:30 am to see if my lights were on, nope. Had to go outside and re-calibrate the timer so the lights would start. Mission accomplished. Of coarse the girls spent the night "out" perching on the outside roost pole.

Charlie

 

[DrDean]

Well I haven't gotten around to getting a night light yet for my hens, and some of them have started laying again without it. With 18 hens (19 before a hawk got one last Friday), I'm getting about 1 or 2 eggs a day now.