Winter Laying and Solar Coop Lighting?

[Duchess of Quah]

Hello, all! We have a lovely and lively group of Plymouth Rock Hens, plus one that's a PR/Ameraucana mix. They are now 19 weeks old, and have yet to lay an egg. I imagine the shorter days have a significant impact on egg-laying. All but one of the hens have open and moist vents, and most have developed bright red combs and wattles. They have been inspecting the nest box, sometimes going in, but no eggs yet. :-/

We live in a rental, so cannot run electricity out to the coop. I found solar-powered rope lighting that would be easy to install in our coop. If we were to turn it on in the afternoon to get another few hours of light, would that work to help stimulate egg production?

https://www.outdoorsolarstore.com/c...m-white-rope-solar-lights?variant=35030702532

 

[GC-Raptor]

I don't know about the solar lighting. I use a 100' outdoor extension cord and a 250 lumens LED bulb.
My Barred Rocks didn't start to lay till 20 weeks old and the last one at 23 weeks, last January. GC

 

[TwentyOneChickens]

Hello, all! We have a lovely and lively group of Plymouth Rock Hens, plus one that's a PR/Ameraucana mix. They are now 19 weeks old, and have yet to lay an egg. I imagine the shorter days have a significant impact on egg-laying. All but one of the hens have open and moist vents, and most have developed bright red combs and wattles. They have been inspecting the nest box, sometimes going in, but no eggs yet. :-/

We live in a rental, so cannot run electricity out to the coop. I found solar-powered rope lighting that would be easy to install in our coop. If we were to turn it on in the afternoon to get another few hours of light, would that work to help stimulate egg production?

https://www.outdoorsolarstore.com/c...m-white-rope-solar-lights?variant=35030702532

We use solar lighting. It indeed does help egg production in the winter, but we've had some issues with it. If you aren't familiar with electricity, it might not be a great idea. We've had several mishaps that we fixed with the solar lighting.

 

[Befels]

We use solar lighting. It indeed does help egg production in the winter, but we've had some issues with it. If you aren't familiar with electricity, it might not be a great idea. We've had several mishaps that we fixed with the solar lighting.

When do you have your lights comes on? How long do you run them? Are they inside your coop? In your run? I am looking at getting some lighting, just not sure... all of the ones I found with timers are for a set number of hours. Trying to figure it all out. Thanks for your input.

 

[Duchess of Quah]

We use solar lighting. It indeed does help egg production in the winter, but we've had some issues with it. If you aren't familiar with electricity, it might not be a great idea. We've had several mishaps that we fixed with the solar lighting.

Do you mean that you had issues with the electric lights, so you then switched to solar, or that you have had mishaps with the solar? What kinds of issues? My husband is pretty handy, but this is our first time owning chickens and dealing with coop logistics.

 

[aart]

The problem with using solar lighting for winter laying is that it needs to be on a timer for consistency(very important).

There's nothing off the shelf that will work well, you'd need a good solar system with adequate panel and battery capacity, then the timer is pretty easy to wire in.

I use a heavy duty outdoor extension cord for winter lighting and heated waterer.
Any electrical in and near a coop can be a fire and/or shock hazard...take good care.

 

[Duchess of Quah]

I wanted to follow up on this thread. Thanks to the helpful advice from everyone, we decided to do without any supplemental lighting, since we live in a rental and have a small backyard, making it easy to access the coop at night in case of emergency. Our first egg was laid November 12, and all had begun to lay by December 1. They did a great job throughout the winter, in spite of the shorter days. The only low egg production days came when they stayed in their coop/run to avoid heavy rains.

Happy Spring, everyone!

 

[Peppercorngal]

I wanted to follow up on this thread. Thanks to the helpful advice from everyone, we decided to do without any supplemental lighting, since we live in a rental and have a small backyard, making it easy to access the coop at night in case of emergency. Our first egg was laid November 12, and all had begun to lay by December 1. They did a great job throughout the winter, in spite of the shorter days. The only low egg production days came when they stayed in their coop/run to avoid heavy rains.

Happy Spring, everyone!

That is great news! If you are not in the egg sale business you don't really need extra lighting. It's a hassle and unless it's consistent it matters not anyway! Congrats on your eggs and Happy Spring back at cha!

 

[aart]

I wanted to follow up on this thread. Thanks to the helpful advice from everyone, we decided to do without any supplemental lighting, since we live in a rental and have a small backyard, making it easy to access the coop at night in case of emergency. Our first egg was laid November 12, and all had begun to lay by December 1. They did a great job throughout the winter, in spite of the shorter days. The only low egg production days came when they stayed in their coop/run to avoid heavy rains.

Happy Spring, everyone!

Congrats.......often pullets do lay thru their first winter.
It's next winter you might want lights, unless you get more pullets this spring.