Lighting in Coop

[SconnieChicks]

Good evening fellow BYC'ers,
I have a question about lighting. We are down to less than 12 hours of light per day now here in WI so I installed an automatic timer to plug my coop light into. I currently have the light come on at 6am till 8am ( daylight is around 7-7:30am) and also have it coming back on at 6pm till 8:30pm ( dusk around 6:30 pm). I sthis what I should be doing or does anyone else have any better ideas?
Thanx

 

[Smf0723]

HI I was told not to put a light my chicken coop by a store that sells chickens and chicken supplies. You can do it if you DON'T want your chickens to live long. your chickens wont live long if you put a light in thier coop necause it's thier only time to rest from laying eggs(laying eggs stress the chicken).

 

[SconnieChicks]

i thought they needed 12-14 hrs of light to help with egg laying?

 

[SconnieChicks]

they are still getting 10 hrs of darkness

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

14 hrs of light is standard from what I have read to help with laying...you want some of that in the morning and some at night, or all in the morning.

 

[Kirklandchick]

I'm in northern IL, so our daylight time is about the same as yours. I turn a light on in the coop at 5:30am, mainly to get the early morning layers up and moving so they will hopefully lay before my son leaves for school, as I leave before he does in the morning, and I really dont want the eggs sitting there all day as much as possible. It's been working pretty well so far. I don't light it in the evening though. They seem to be content to go in & hop up on the roosts right away & be in for the night, so I just let them be at night. They've been going in by 6pm, so usually by 5:30am they're raring to get moving.

 

[Smf0723]

well winter is the only time thier bodies get to rest. if you dont want your chickens to live long then keep the light in there. egg laying stresses them out and they need to rest so thats what winter is for

 

[5th lake chick]

my chicks are about 22 weeks old and have not started laying. I was told it is because I don't light their coop? any thoughts, Or do I just have to wait till longer days in the spring for them to start laying- that's along time away and lots of feed for no eggs?

 

[thebirdguy]

I would suggest putting all of your artificial light in the morning so that they get a normal dusk in the evening and can settle down for the night naturally. Just my 2 cents..

 

[Audio51]

My chickens were not gonig up into the coop to sleep until I added a solar powered rope light inside. They would sleep outside under a small light I had near the gate to the chicken run or under the coop. As soon as I added it they started sleeping inside immediately. I isn't very bright so it doesn't disrupt them getting settled in. I slowly dims as the power drains so it pretty much simulates dusk for them. Mine are only about 3 months old so they are not laying yet though.