Light and chicken making egg to lay

[JULIE L CORWIN]

I live in Ohio and getting new chickens July 24th. Will have there brooder time and then into the chicken house. Now for my question. How many hours of light does a chicken need to make an egg.? I have read 14 then I read 16. So which is it? Then at least 8 hours of rest. To start over again. In winter or when the light time outside gets shorter. I plan on supplemental light to create 14 or 16 hours of time. Lighting in winter. What color of bulb do I use? Does a red bulb really keep the birds calmer?I have used heat lamps before. Not going to do this time. I kept them on 24/7 in winter. Will the chickens pick at each other in the dark? I had a bad feather picking problem with my last bunch. Was that partly because of what I did with the lights on so long?We plan on building a new coop with the bunch comming. 16 chickens the coop inside floor space is 10 by12. It will be insulated with plenty of ventalation. My husbund wants to put flat panel wall heaters to keep it 50 degrees in the coop. I can't convince him NOT to use them. He has talked with other chicken owners. Who say you need a little heat or chickens stop or drop production of eggs and wall panel heaters are safer than heat lamps. Need opions please

 

[keesmom]

Ditch the idea of supplemental heat. Laying slows in winter because of the limited daylight and not because of the cold. Chickens have a nice downy coat to stay warm and yours would do better if acclimated to your temperatures. If you do heat the coop, what happens if you lose power for an extended time during a bitter cold spell?

As for supplemental lighting most first year pullets lay just fine during the winter without it. It's the older birds that will lay better with lighting. But they still have to take a break and molt at some point. I wouldn't be surprised if the constant lighting contributed to your last flock's feather picking along with other factors. How many birds did you have and how much room? What did you feed them?

 

[aart]

Adding your location to your profile would help.
Curious about why he wants heat?