Quote:Not necessarily. You may decide you want to have one in the coop for your own convenience when it's dark outside. Some people put lights on timers in their coops to compensate for less light hours in the winter months to keep egg production up.
I guess it depends on where you are. Here in Maine, the daylight hours dwindle quickly and before you know it we're going to work in the dark and coming home from work in the dark... The chickens need 15 hours of daylight for uninterrupted egg production. When you only have four chickens, like me, you want them to lay consistantly through the winter. I just started supplementing daylight on a timer. We're already down to 12+/- hours a day, and every day the days get shorter. It's really a choice YOU make, it's not necessary but it helps, in my opinion (IMO).
