light in coop?

[hatterasman]

Of course production went up. But hens have a finite number of eggs. You will get them faster over a shorter period with 24x7 light. If you plan to get rid of them when they stop laying, then that's fine, but they will lay over 5 years instead of 2 years if you don't force them with light.

You do know this thread was dead for 5 years?

Scott

Sorry Scott, my hens are four years old and still laying every day after having 24/7 light their entire lifetime. As for the thread being "dead", I didn't realize that the forum had forum police to point that out.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm thinking you need to contact the Guiness Book of World Records, as I've never heard of 4 yr old chickens laying an egg every day of the year...actually, I've only ever heard of one or two chickens in history that have been recorded as laying that many eggs in a year's time. What breed do you have and how many eggs total per year are you getting from each hen..silly question, of course you are getting 365 eggs per year...and can you share your genetics and husbandry methods that produces such chickens?

 

[bruceh]

I'm thinking you need to contact the Guiness Book of World Records, as I've never heard of 4 yr old chickens laying an egg every day of the year...actually, I've only ever heard of one or two chickens in history that have been recorded as laying that many eggs in a year's time. What breed do you have and how many eggs total per year are you getting from each hen..silly question, of course you are getting 365 eggs per year...and can you share your genetics and husbandry methods that produces such chickens?

 

[angcurdy]

i got a nice timer from walmart for $5.00

I have it to where my chickens will get light for about 18 hrs a day.. is that too much? do they need more darkness?

 

[kschicks2013]

Unless you are selling eggs don't worry about a light. Laying breeds will continue to lay eggs maybe a little less then in summer and spring but this is a natural cycle. They need a rest. As far as a light for warmth, I have a light in the run area not where they roost. They generate enough heat to keep warm.

 

[kschicks2013]

I have a question. My hens all of a sudden have started roosting on the roof of their coop instead of going inside to roost. My concern is the cold weather and them being affected by roosting on the roof. The coop is inside a large enclosure which I have put tarps around so there won't be drafts. Do you think I should be worried about them wanting to roost on roof of coop. They are safefrom predators.

 

[Sally_O]

I have no idea if they will go inside when it gets too cold or if they need to -- they generate a good amount of body heat. But when mine suddenly started sleeping on the roof and in nearby trees, I went out every night once they were settled (it was never quite dark) and put them in the coop. After 3 nights, they were all sleeping in the coop again. They are serious creatures of habit. Something broke the coop habit (a call from mother nature, I'll bet) but they are back inside now.

 

[mamadawn]

I can tell you what we plan on doing:  After the time change at the end of october, we will have a light on for them for 5 am until 8 pm.  They need 12-14 hours of light to continue to be good layers.  So, we are going with a light to keep the eggs coming.  We go through too many to have them stop.

Did you mean 5am till 8am?

 

[RonP]

I posted this on another query, this is how I do it, works extremely well, hope it helps:

There are a lot of opinions on supplementing light to keep the chickens laying during time period where there is less than 12-14 hours of available daylight.

My coop gets 16 hours of light 351 days per year.

I turn lights off for 14 days to have birds go into a controlled moult late September .

Having had to install electricity for the thermostatically controlled water heater, I took advantage and installed a lighting system.

My system has two timers. The first is set to turn the lights on at 5:30am, off at 9pm.

Power goes on, passes through a photocell, then to a 300 lumen LED bulb, 4.8 watts, in the coop, and 2 4.8 watt LEDs for the outside run.

I light the run because I found the birds huddled outside the coop door in the dark one 5:30am morning...
They have access to the run 24/7, as it is as secure as the coop.

The lights are on only when it is dark enough outside to be necessary.
The time on very closely mimics my Summer Solstice in NJ.

The second timer is set to go on at 8:30pm, off at 9:30pm, a diffused 200 lumen LED 4 watt bulb.
This low light allows the birds to settle in before all lights out and 8 hours of darkness.

This system costs less than $5 per year to operate..

 

[cowgirlchicken]

Okay I live in Michigan first time keeping my chickens for the winter I'm using a tent garage for their winter coop I'm curious if I should let them have access to the outside in the cold snowy winter months or if I should just keep them inside.. I plan to hang a light in the middle for lighting and then a red light on at night for warmth do you think this is a good idea?

It's not done this is my weekend project there's a wooden wall on the front of it