supplementing light for winter laying questions

[CanadaEh]

I have been reading 14 hours of daylight is recommended for good laying and any artificial lighting should be added by turning the light by timer in the **morning** (before the break of dawn), otherwise chickens would not be able to settle for the night and find roost if the light goes off abruptly in the evening.

1) Does that would mean my rooster could start crowing e.g. at 2:20 am when the light goes on instead of 6:20am at the first break of dawn?
2) Can I supplement the light in the evening instead but have it on a dimmer going off slowly over period of say 10min so they could have enough time to settle for the night? Or I could have a small solar light charging from the main light and providing some light for a few minutes after the main light goes off.

3) Does any supplementation of light to the coop (regardless morning or evening) could increase bad behavior of chickens confined in the coop? I.e. currently they only in the coop for sleeping + may be 2 hours after waking up in the morning. Would having a supplemental light in the coop for say additional 4 hours in the morning be equivalent of not letting them out and having them locked up for 6 hours of coop boredom?

 

[SueT]

I don't supplement light and my rooster crows at night anyway. I think he hears things.
Here's a recent thread on lighting
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/extra-light.1274710/

 

[Helloworld]

Roosters crow when it is daylight.
Chickens do freeze as soon as you turn off the light. I usually turn lights off about an hr before dark so they can adjustmand start settling down. I have cameras on our coops so I am 100% sure they stop exactly where they are at when the light turns off lol. It is crazy.

I use the sun. Whatever there is would be what they get. This is on purpose so that laying hens can recoup. Each egg is 8 layers? to build? They deserve a vacay like God intended for better health and happiness.

Unless you live in a place like Alaska I would just let them have sun. A chicken, human, etc needs eggzactly 20 minutes of sun a day to make enough Vitamin D to survive.

 

[GC-Raptor]

If you have 4 square feet of floor space per chicken in your coop and feed, water, at least 10/15 hens and only 1 cockerel/rooster. Maybe? I would have a camera in there to monitor or a game cam on time lapse video every 10 minutes taking a 30 second video, to monitor for a few days in case you have a Bully or to few pullets/hens, or a smaller coop.
I have read roos will crow with artificial light.
You only need a 40 watt equivalent LED for up to a 100 square foot coop. 25 watt equivalent LED for up to a 25 square foot coop, for 14 hours to maximize egg production.
I would increase the light 30 minutes a week till you get to the hours you want.

I don't have any roos, but I have a small coop. I only add light in the morning at 5am daily year-round. I also open the coop at that time and light up the pen. . I have a dim light on in the coop so they can see to get on the roost after sunset. I shut it off when I lockup the coop a few minutes after sunset and make sure everyone is accounted for and on the roost. GC