Should I have my light on a timer?

Don

Songster
11 Years
Jul 15, 2008
183
4
111
Oil City, PA
Howdy!

I've got my 6 kids in a converted metal shed that's about 6' x 10'. There is 1 sliding window on the wall to the southwest and that's it. The roost faces that window and directly above it is a light fixture that's mounted to the wall by the ceiling and surrounded by a wire box.. (So it too faces the window, not directly down on the roost.) I have taken the reflector off one of those clamp lights and laid it in the wire box upside down ... so it's like a funnel with the big end toward the bulb and the small end pointing down. This keeps the light from being "direct" but allows it to create a little warmth. (It's just a 60 watt normal bulb.)

Now for the question ... should I have this light on a timer? There is no other heat source (not that they HAVE to have it for that) nor is there any other light.

These kids are almost old enough to start laying (I hope) and I'm not sure how much light they need/should have. I've simply left it plugged in all the time.

Thanks for any/all assistance!
Peace ...

Don
 
they shouldn't need the light for heat unless you're having really cold weather (like below zero, but even then some people have said they haven't had any problems even in those temps). For laying they need 14 hrs of light starting in the morning, NOT at night. If it suddenly gets dark they have a tough time roosting.
 
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So natural daylight should be fine from sunup till about sundown?
Then just use the light to get them from sundown till about 9pm (ish)?

BTW: LOVE your sig line and avatar.
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Hey there, Don
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How many hours of daylight are ya gettin now? I would put the light on a timer so it clicks on in the mornin just early enough so that when sundown hits in the afternoon they woul have 14 hours of light. Ste the timer to click off just after daybreak. That should fix you up for optimum laying light conditions. Shouldn't need it for heat unless it gets real cold
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My dh has put our light on a timer. It comes on at 6 a.m. and goes off at 8 p.m. I did that because there were a few days that the girls didn't lay when we had the light on for just a few hours. Since having it on more they have kept up their production.

I looked at your BYC page. I remember going to Old Tuscon when i was in second grade!!! That was a long long time ago.
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I remember it being very fun.
 
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Hiya Robin!

Right now we're gettin' about 10 to 10 1/2 hrs a day. Sunup about 7am and sundown hits right around 5/5:30pm. So to give them 14 hours of light by sunset the timer should bring the light on at ... 3:30am and off at 7.

Wow!
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Better the light than me. LOL

Mucho Thanks-O
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You very welcome
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What part of Texas are ya from? I use to drive a truck to Laredo and would stop in at a little BBQ joint in Pearsall that had the best brisket I ever put in my mouth! Now THAT'S BBQ! These folks at home don't have a clue cause pig ain't BBQ to me LOL
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You Texas folk got it goin on!
 
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Actually, I am a recent transplant from Arizona. THEY don't know BBQ at ALL there! I'm gonna tell ya what ... Georgetown BBQ or The Pit, both in (you guessed it) Georgetown, TX ... THAT is BBQ!

When I do up a brisket, a FULL brisket - none of this 2 - 5 pound poo ... I usually cook it for between 12 and 14 hours usin only Coca Cola and Onion Soup mix (powdered one) for season.
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Great ... now I'm hungry. LOL
 
MMM, that sounds good! I will have to try that! Thanks for the tip
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How are you liking it in Texas? I always thought if I made a move it might be where I ended up
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We are pretty much stuck here until hubby retires cause of his job but after that I think we will most likely settle down somewhere a bit less crowded, lol! The southeast has gotten just nutts! I grew up in a very small, rural community where you knew everyone and we all helped each other out. Now, I don't even recognize it as home. It's a shame too. Folks use to be neighborly but now everyone lives in subdivison and avoids the neighbors. I just don't get it. I am fortunate in that I live on 21 acres and my immediate neighbors are great! They have a decent sized piece of property as well so it's not crowded and I can have my critters without having to worry about folks complainin all the time!
 

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