light in my coop

[guillemette]

Quick question is it ok to leave a light on all the time in the coop ? I know that you need to have so much light per day for them to keep laying I was going to just putt one of them new low wat bulbs in and just keep it on all the time. I just didn't know if this would some how bother the chickens when they get to laying age.

 

[21hens-incharge]

It will make them crazy. Think of trying to sleep with a light on all the time. It interferes with the sleep, rest, egg making schedule. They NEED the dark time too.
Not a matter of want but a matter of NEED.
They will get cranky and beat up on each other really quickly. They will also need to have good sleep in order to produce quality shells on the eggs.

I used to have a light on with a timer to shut it off an hour after dark. When the timer acted up due to dust they made such a ruckus I was woken up by the massive complaining.

I now do not even attempt to lengthen the day for them. I found with my 19 hens it did no good at all.

 

[mucduc]

I just put lights up in my coop and if I have to go in there for whatever reason at night, they all wake up immediately and start to ea. They begin to run around like it's day time. And then when I leave, all the ones not on the roost freak out because they are on the ground and it's dark out. They freak out enough that the rooster starts grunting to them.

But it's not bad though if I'm out there with the light on before it gets dark. They still get on their roost at the normal timE, and I can leave whenever with no issues.

 

[guillemette]

So will my chickens stop laying in the winter if I use no light at all?

 

[Percheron chick]

They will slow down but typically keep laying. The easiest solution is to put a light on a timer and add light on the AM side. Let them roost in the evening with natural light. That way, they don't get caught outside or on the ground when the light goes off.