Lighting in no-food coop?

[lithopgirl]

Hi all, newbie here. I have four hens and adapted a kit coop for my needs. I live in northern Wisconsin and would like to have at least some eggs through fall/winter. I’m keeping their food and water in the run, not the coop. I will have lighting in the run. But in the depths of winter, if I add light only in the mornings, it would need to go on at something like 4:30 am. I get up by 6, but we don’t have an automatic door. My question is: can/should I extend the lighting into the coop if they don’t have access to food & water for 1.5 hours in the morning?

 

[Mamatomany123]

Honestly, I wouldnt make them lay in winter. They need a break.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Nothing wrong with adding light, but I would not do it without food & water in the coop.

 

[aart]

Nothing wrong with adding light, but I would not do it without food & water in the coop.

Ditto Dat^^^

There are space saving ways to feed and water.
Dimensions and pics of your coop and run would help immensely here.

Oh, and...if your birds just hatched this spring, they will likely lay all winter without supplemental lighting.

 

[wamtazlady]

As aart said, first year pullets tend to lay through their first winter. Last time I had all pullets I averaged 9 eggs a day from 12 birds their first winter.

 

[lithopgirl]

Here’s our coop/run. There are 5 chickens shown, but one is a rooster (Barnevelder) and he will soon be going to a friend’s farm. The pullets have supervised free-range of my medium-size urban backyard during the day (we figure once they’re mature and can defend themselves from a neighborhood cat that comes in our yard they won’t need much supervision—we have 6 foot fences). The space behind the coop is 1.5 ft wide, and I have a PVC pipe feeder and waterer mounted in the run back there. It is very cold in northern Wisconsin for 6+ months a year. I don’t need my chickens to always be at peak production, but I will need light in the coop/run by 6am year-round so I can tend to them before I go to work. I am still considering materials for providing a windbreak for three sides of the run in winter. (Any suggestions?) It is fairly well protected (the big tree on the right side is on the North side, the garage behind it is West).

 

[aart]

I am still considering materials for providing a windbreak for three sides of the run in winter. (Any suggestions?)

That coop and especially the run is not big enough for 4 full grown birds.
I would suggest that build a very large run with a solid roof(framed for snow load) and put the coop/run combo right inside it. You can add plastic to 3 walls for winter wind breaks.