Lights in the chicken coop

[Dogfish]

17 hours a day.

 

[mons02035]

My light is on a timer. It's on at 0630 and off at 2130. I have 5 hens. I've been getting 4-5 eggs everyday...... Granted, they are in the first year of laying.

 

[Reg]

Quote:
We use the timer, as well. we bought it at Christmas time. It's the type used for Christmas lights. We turn it on at 4 am, and it goes off at 5pm. We're getting over a dozen eggs/day.

Hi there

As your birds are in the coop for a couple of hour with the light on do you proved food & water in there or do they have to wait for breakfast ?

 

[Chirpy]

Interesting for me. This is the first year that we decided to add lighting to the coop to see if egg production went up. The egg production has gone down! I got far more eggs the last few years without artificial lighting.

Now, a couple of factors that may be playing a part in this info.
My hens had already decreased their laying when we finally got the lights up and running last fall. I think the lights should have been on about a month before we actually got them working.
Some of my hens are going on 4 years old. But, even my one and two year olds aren't laying like they were in the fall.
Second, I had a really rough Rooster and, for about a month, four cockerals (they hatched here last summer and I haven't been able to find them homes) who were mercilessly harassing my hens. I've moved all five boys into their own area now and still am not getting many eggs.
I also have at least one egg eater. I'm trying to figure out who it is and if I'm losing eggs that I don't even know were laid.

It is suggested to always add light in the morning hours and let the sun go down naturally in the evening so the chickens know when to go into roost. They can get 'caught' in the dark if an added light all of a sudden just goes off. Thus, my lights come on at 2:00 a.m. and shut off at 8:00 a.m. They are on a timer.

I may try this experiment again next year and see if things go differently.

 

[HHandbasket]

B'villechicken :

Mine is on a timer. The bulb is a CFL. When my hens tailed off on their egg laying this winter, I thought I would try and increase the amount of light. Didn't work.

That's because the light waves of a CFL do not mimic sunlight, and the birds do not perceive it as daylight. I tried two or three different CFLs to no avail. Then we decided just for spits and giggles to try a "daylight" bulb, and guess what? EVERYBODY started layin' eggs, even the POL pullets that hadn't started yet & I didn't expect them to start until spring, figured that since winter came, they'd wait... but once we switched the light bulb, I've gone from 2 laying hens to 6 in just over a month's time, in the middle of winter no less!

Then again, you'll get as many different answers/experiences regarding coop lights are there are chickenkeepers. Pretty much, your chickens are gonna do what your chickens are gonna do.

 

[B'villechicken]

Quote:
That's because the light waves of a CFL do not mimic sunlight, and the birds do not perceive it as daylight. I tried two or three different CFLs to no avail. Then we decided just for spits and giggles to try a "daylight" bulb, and guess what? EVERYBODY started layin' eggs, even the POL pullets that hadn't started yet & I didn't expect them to start until spring, figured that since winter came, they'd wait... but once we switched the light bulb, I've gone from 2 laying hens to 6 in just over a month's time, in the middle of winter no less!

Then again, you'll get as many different answers/experiences regarding coop lights are there are chickenkeepers. Pretty much, your chickens are gonna do what your chickens are gonna do.

Thanks so much for the candid opinion. I will try and switch to a daylight bulb.

David

 

[Campbell Lighting]

Hi guys. We are a small Lighting company located in Pearcy, Arkansas. We have been manufacturing High Pressure Sodium light fixtures for Layers, Breeders and Broilers in the industrial/commercial poultry market for 20 years now and we are the leading supplier of Specific HPS lighting to the Poultry Industry. We have been approached by a few Urban Farmers lately who wanted to use our fixture in their coops. So far we've sold a few of our fixtures to these farmers and they have reported very good results in increased egg production.

The use of our fixture throughout the Laying industry has not changed in 20 years, it has been the tried and true way to promote egg production and stimulate overall bird activity and health. We have found that when HPS lighting is used in every aspect of chicken farming the chickens will eat more food, drink more water, thus decreasing the mortality rate and providing a healthier bird. One of the reasons for this is the fact that HPS light does mimic natural sunlight in both Intensity and Color. The Kelvin on HPS light is a yellow-gold color much like the color of the sun. On the kelvin scale, it is marked at 2200K. When compared to a standard CFL (Compact Fluorescent) the lowest kelvin scale is a Warm White which is 2700K, then you have Cool white at 4100K, Daylight White at 5000K (Supposed to mimic the color of light on a sunny day when the sun is behind cloud cover) and upwards of 6500K. The Lower on the Kelvin scale you are, the more "Yellow/Gold" color you will get. The higher on the Kelvin scale, the more Blue/White tint you will see. For example, if you see a newer vehicle such as a BMW or Mercedes with very Bright blinding (Blue-ish tinted) headlights, those are around 9000K and are also HID, which is much more intense than and Fluorescent.


Intensity and Light color is where we've found the mixture for success throughout our applications. By using the High Pressure Sodium light, we can get the intensity and the color we need.


If any of you have questions / comments please feel free to email us at [email protected]

Thanks,
Dan Campbell

 

[ghunt507]

Interesting......Unaware cfl could play a roll in egg production

 

[Campbell Lighting]

there are quite a few urban farmers who are using CFL and getting results. I wanted to give you our experience with the use of CFL's Vs. HPS.. We also carry a full line of industrial grade high CFL's and we're coming out with a new inexpensive CFL fixture which should be listed soon on My Pet Chicken.

 

[campochicks]

Has anyone heard of a solar system for lighting a coop that is affordable? Mine is a little hard to get electricity to.