Shine a Spotlight from My Window into Coop

[ConPollos]

Back to my original question, if anyone knows whether or not beaming a spotlight from 20' away into the coop would work, please weigh in. Sunlight shines into the coop from outside and that works.

 

[aart]

Back to my original question, if anyone knows whether or not beaming a spotlight from 20' away into the coop would work, please weigh in. Sunlight shines into the coop from outside and that works.

Quote:

 

[ConPollos]

Okay, so you're saying that as long as it's bright enough to read a newspaper in there it doesn't matter whether or not the light is being beamed in from 20' away, right? Sorry I didn't understand the first time you posted that.

I was thinking of cutting a hole in the wall up near the roof, then covering it with a wooden box shape that's open on the top and bottom, like a lampshade. Then when I beam the spotlight through the hole and into that box it will shine out through the top and bottom of the box/lampshade into the coop, especially if I paint the inside of the box with white reflective or silver paint, or put a miror in it at an angle.

If it works it's a great alternative to running power to the shed, or finding solar or battery opperated lights that have a timer, which wasn't coming up on Google.

 

[ConPollos]

PS I read the chicken chick article about winter lights, and she uses rope lights and Christmas light and says LED lights work fine, so her article made me feel better about winter lighting. If the spotlight shining from my window into a hole in the coop wall doesn't work, I'll try running some Christmas lights across the courtyard from my window to the coop. That will be easier than trying to suspend an extension cord across 20'. I can string them from my window, then along the top of the 20' dog kennel to the shed, then through a hole into the coop.

 

[aart]

Quote: Yep, that's the theory.

Might work, you'd have to play with it and see how the light distributes...tho I would think running a heavy duty extension cord would be more convenient.
That's what I've got, was 'temporary' from an outside GFCI outlet, but it's been out for almost 2 years now as I don't know if or when I'll be able to run power out there in a more conventional manner.

You also need to think about keeping water thawed, which will take electricity also.

Also can you put this spotlight on a timer?
For winter laying light, it's best to have the light come on in the very early morning, like 3-4am in the deepest part of winter, so they can go to roost with the natural sunset.

 

[ConPollos]

Yep, that's the theory.

Might work, you'd have to play with it and see how the light distributes...tho I would think running a heavy duty extension cord would be more convenient.
That's what I've got, was 'temporary' from an outside GFCI outlet, but it's been out for almost 2 years now as I don't know if or when I'll be able to run power out there in a more conventional manner.

You also need to think about keeping water thawed, which will take electricity also.

Also can you put this spotlight on a timer?
For winter laying light, it's best to have the light come on in the very early morning, like 3-4am in the deepest part of winter, so they can go to roost with the natural sunset.

Yes, I can put the spotlight on a timer to shine for a few hours every AM, based on the sunrise/sunset times.

I would run an extension cord over to the coop, but my dogs would chew it up, and it's harder to suspend those heavy cords than it is to hang Christmas lights.

I'm concerned about water also. Maybe I should check out the small solar panels at Orscheln's farm supply. I also read that ShoptheCoop.com has safe coop heaters, but I can't find it on Google. I was wondering about using old fashioned hot water bottles in the coop.

 

[ConPollos]

I edited above.

 

[aart]

Quote: I 'buried' mine, just a slit in the turf and pressed down barley below grade.....tho there are places were it is exposed, luckily my dog is not a chewer or digger.

 

[ConPollos]

Yes, I can put the spotlight on a timer to shine for a few hours every AM, based on the sunrise/sunset times.

I would run an extension cord over to the coop, but my dogs would chew it up, and it's harder to suspend those heavy cords than it is to hang Christmas lights.

I'm concerned about water also. Maybe I should check out the small solar panels at Orscheln's farm supply. I also read that ShoptheCoop.com has safe coop heaters, but I can't find it on Google. I was wondering about using old fashioned hot water bottles in the coop.

I 'buried' mine, just a slit in the turf and pressed down barley below grade.....tho there are places were it is exposed, luckily my dog is not a chewer or digger.

I didn't know that the plastic casing was tough enough to remain intact and not deteriorate underground. My dogs are diggers, though.

I have an outlet on the other side of the house, but not in a good location to run a power cord to the coop from.

I really don't like the idea of having electricity in the coop in case of flooding, ice, or fire hazards. I wonder how the old timers dealt with freezing water before electricity. I guess they just kept toting heated water out to the coop, unless they did something innovative with hot water bottles.

I have one of those Stanley Power Stations that you can jump your car with and also run small appliances off of. It would power a lamp for at least a week or two, and since it has an outlet to plug things into it could be used with a timer. But it says in the manual that it could throw a spark and ignite fumes or flammable materials, so I don't want to set it in or near the coop. It's supposed to have ventilation so I can't put it in a bin.

 

[ConPollos]

Problem solved! Lights.com sells a string of 100 warm white LED lights with a timered battery pack to chicken farmers. The sales rep I spoke to emailed me the links. He said he's knowledgeable about the chicken winter lighting issue. http://www.lights.com/d-battery-box-with-timer-p-34410.html

http://www.lights.com/warm-white-100-led-strand-for-connectable-string-light-systems-p-16823.html