Looking For Help On Lighting For Egg Production

[newchickens2009]

I Am Thinking Bout Putting A Light In The Run So My Chicks Will Lay More Eggs. Is It Worth It Or Am I Wasting My Time? Also I Heard That You Shouldn't Just Put It On A Timer Because The Light Goes Off To Sudden And This Spooks The Hens And May Delay Laying Instead Of Helping Them. Is That So? And If It Is What Do You Use To Dim It Slowly Like The Setting Sun?

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I have heard about artificial lighting forever it seems. I have to be honest; I never tried it. I guess I'm an all natural kinda gal. When I compare the price of the equipment against the idea of just getting a few extra hens......possibly leghorns to insure a guarantee of eggs, I feel like going with the latter.
If you have something installed, that will cost you. If you just run some cords and buy a light; that will cost you. Then....and I know this won't be much, but there is the electric charges. And then I really don't want to draw attention to my coop at night. Not all of us are living in a perfect neighborhood.
I do have a light in my coop, but I only turn it on when I need to go there for something and turn it right off when I'm done. I only have it, so I can brood chicks directly in the coop if I need to. It must be switched on from the house.
I feel like we have different seasons and the chickens bodies adjust to them accordingly. When it gets colder, they might need to concentrate on keeping warmer and some of their energy normally spent on producing eggs, might be spent on warming up.
Now if I should ever want to try and see if more light would be a plus, I think I would do it by removing 2 or 3 sheets of roofing and replace them with clear fiberglass, but that would only help me for the daylight hours.

 

[Rogue Rooster]

I have 14 hens and I installed lights on a timer that come on a 4 am in the coop and the yard. We have not experienced any drop in egg production this fall so far. Here is southern Oregon it gets dark about 5 pm , sunset 4:55 pm today Nov 12

 

[theFox]

Quote:
If you are going to use lights, the timer should be set to turn them on early in the morning and turn them off after sunrise which will prevent the "spooking" issue if it exist. The total light time natural plus artificial should be between 12 and 14 hours. Getting from the amount of light you have now to the 12 to 14 hour mark should be done gradually if possible.

The amount of artificial light you need is relatively little, a single 40 watt (or equivalent) bulb in a reflector over the feeder/water should be enough.

I have a single 40 watt light bulb in my coop, it comes on at 3:00 AM and turns off at 8:00 AM. The earliest sunset time here is about 4:05 PM so I will have light for slightly more than 13 hours on the shortest day of the year.

 

[newchickens2009]

Quote:
THIS SOUNDS LIKE THE BEST WAY TO DO IT HAS FAR HAS NOT SPOOKING THE CHICKENS BUT, MY NEIGHBOURS WILL REALLY HATE ME IF I LET THE ROOSTER START TO CROW AT 3. (I HAVE TO CLOSE THEM UP IN THE ROOST EVERY NIGHT AND NOT LET THEM OUT UNTIL 8:00AM TO KEEP THE PEACE AROUND HERE.)

 

[Uzuri]

*slinks in because she's doing things differently*

I just use a battery powered light on a string and turn it on in the evenings and off a bit later by hand. Extremely on the cheap. Mine are all young, so it's hard to say how well it works, but the one that I have laying is doing 2 eggs every three days (had a three day streak just now), so it must work to a certain extent. The three day streak was topped off by a very late night egg in the nesting box (not from the roost, and my ladies don't sleep in the box), so it had to be laid under the artificial light.

 

[golden comets]

I Used A Light Last Year And Had Eggs All Winter.i Had It On A Timer To Come On In The Mornig Around 4am And Turn Off At 8am.still Using The Same Method This Year And Have Plenty Of Eggs.your Right About Truning The Light Off At Night That Would Be Awful,like Turning The Light Off On Us In The Middles Of Supper.

 

[MIKE555444]

I agree with early morning extra light. Here is mine:

 

[theFox]

Quote:
No roosters here, I wouldn't want angry neighbors. That is why I have only 3 Black Jersey Giants, there used be be four. At the tender young age of 14 weeks + 4 days my 4th Giant announced to the world that indeed he was a rooster. He was dispatched the next morning. I'm still unhappy about that because he was one laid back bird.

 

[flymamma]

I have had an increase in egg production since adding my lights .I was getting 6 eggs from 11 chickens ... now I am averaging 9 eggs a day . I still had a few spring chicks that had not started laying yet .. Mine go on at 4:30am am and off at 8:00 am .. they are on the roost by 4:30 pm my house shades them from the last bit of sunlight . The only drawback to waking them up earlier is the fact that I have to girls who SING AND SING about their eggs ... my poor neighbors . I have not figured out which one , but one thinks she is a rooster she sings when the lights come on .Goofy chicken