Solar Lighting

[ffrisone]

I wanted a solar powered light, with auto dusk to dawn control, for my chicken coop. I also wanted this light to be subtle and not too bright. I wanted just enough light to provide some dimmer lighting in the coop to help the girls find their way safely to the roosting bars. These lights are perfect. I did replace the rechargeable battery with a new one having a higher mAh. The original was 1100mAh. I replaced with a 2700mAh battery. I secured the solar panel to the coop, just under the roof and bunched the string of lights in an old peanut butter jar and hung it off the coop ceiling. It's been 5 nights now and the lights come on at dusk and stay lit for several hours. The girls roost safely each night.

Here is a link to these inexpensive solar lights...

https://www.amazon.com/AMIR-Waterpr..._desktop?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&ref=yo_pop_d_pd

 

[tigger19687]

But doesn't that keep it light in there for too long ?

I have cheap solar lights like that and they stay lit for most of the night over my carport.

Do you do it for more egg production, if not have you notice any more eggs ?

I have a light in the coop that I use when I have to see what I am doing. I closed in the hens one storm at about 1pm, turned on the light just to make sure they could see better.
At 5 (still a bit light outside) I went out to shut it off only because I didn't know how long it would stay on for and didn't want it on all night. Plus I didn't want to go out in the storm when it was dark out

 

[ffrisone]

So, I have 2 roosting bars in my coop and I noticed that these new pullets weren't using them. Instead, they would all bunch up in one corner, practically on top of each other. I researched why that might be on here with my friends at BYC and read some posts by very experienced folks. I read that some dim lighting might help them see the roosting bars enough to safely reach them, WITHOUT enough light to stimulate increased egg production. Increased egg production is NOT my goal. There is only one pullet that has started laying thus far, so it's hard to tell anything on the egg laying, but I can tell you that they ALL roost comfortably on the bars now, so I achieved my goal there. The nice thing about thie way I installed these lights is if it turns out there is too much light, I can wrap the peanut butter jar in brown paper (old lunch bag) to dim it more. That is my plan B.... always have a plan B. These LED don't get hot at all, which is great. I'm very pleased so far.

BTW... some of the photos I took were with the flash ON; like the one of the girls roosted. The 1st photo, where you can see with the lights in the peanut jar, gives you a better idea of how dim the coop still is beneath it. You can barely see the roosted bird below it. The light is pretty subtle.

Here is a link to these inexpensive solar lights...

https://www.amazon.com/AMIR-Waterpr..._desktop?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&ref=yo_pop_d_pd