Winter Light for eggs

[kjstanton]

My husband says no eggs no chickens and I miss eggs too, so it's time for light. I bought this light to install on a post in the run. The plan is to screw the light so it lights up the coop through the window. The window is about 3 or 4 ft away. What are your thoughts should I use a different light due to the placement of the light? Any advice appreciated please only post if you agree with lighting for eggs.

 

[PapaBear4]

Why not put the light inside the coop? Are you going to be running it on a timer or trying to remember to turn it off at night? One thing to watch out for is inadvertently creating more light outside the coop than inside. That may result in your birds not wanting to go in the coop at "bed time" in favor of staying outside and eating. Another thing to expect is for your flock to wind up sleeping on the floor rather than on their roosts, at least at first. After a few weeks with a consistent "lights out" time they will make sure they're roosting before it goes dark.

We light the inside of our coop with an LED bulb on a timer. The timer is set to turn it off at about 9pm. I'm not sure how long that makes their day, but it seems to be working. I'm getting about 18/day from 24 hens. Best of luck to you!

PapaBear

 

[Howard E]

Where are you located?

How old are the birds?

There may be other factors involved than lack of light.

 

[mortorffsquail]

To be honest I use a red heat lamp bulb and a heat lamp inside my chicken coops during the winter months. Its a great moral booster for laying hens in the winter when its cold and dreary. A plus side is it also adds some extra warmth as well.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

The light should be in the coop. It doesn't take much wattage or lumens. A person here once said enough light to read a newspaper by and that seems a good description of what is needed. I use battery powered micro string lights with self timer. That works but not ideal, a real timer and extension cord is easier to deal with.

 

[kjstanton]

The light should be in the coop. It doesn't  take much wattage or lumens. A person here once said enough light to read a newspaper by and that seems a good description of what is needed. I use battery powered micro string lights with self timer. That works but not ideal, a real timer and extension cord is easier to deal with.

Hi thanks for the help. How do you use the lights? I looked and the only setting was to stay on for 6 hrs. My girls are used to light in the morning and light at night. Right now I run out there.

 

[kjstanton]

Where are you located?
Hi I'm located in Grand Rapids MI.

How old are the birds?
I'm not sure how old 2 are, maybe 6 but hard to tell. The others are 2 year old- 1 buff orpingtons and 2 barred rocks. The 2 yr olds laid last winter the entire time.

There may be other factors involved than lack of light.

 

[kjstanton]

Hi, thank you for your help.
Currently I have a flash light in the coop. My coop is pretty small and I don't think I can safely secure the light in a place where the girls can't get it. This option is also on a timer, which is why I loved it. The electrical cord is secure in the run area. I only have 5 girls, so I would mind putting them to bed for a bit.

Why not put the light inside the coop?  Are you going to be running it on a timer or trying to remember to turn it off at night?  One thing to watch out for is inadvertently creating more light outside the coop than inside.  That may result in your birds not wanting to go in the coop at "bed time" in favor of staying outside and eating.  Another thing to expect is for your flock to wind up sleeping on the floor rather than on their roosts, at least at first.  After a few weeks with a consistent "lights out" time they will make sure they're roosting before it goes dark.  

We light the inside of our coop with an LED bulb on a timer.  The timer is set to turn it off at about 9pm.  I'm not sure how long that makes their day, but it seems to be working.  I'm getting about 18/day from 24 hens.  Best of luck to you!

PapaBear

 

[Howard E]

So your birds are older?

A 6 year old bird might be a favorite pet, but isn't going to lay many eggs.

The 2 year olds were 1 year old (or less) pullets last winter, and probably did lay eggs through the winter. But as 2 year olds, they probably did a molt and have now taken a few months off. They probably will resume laying some eggs (not as many as last year) in a month or so when the days start getting longer. So the solution continuous eggs is to turn the flock over on a regular basis. New birds each year to replace the 2 year old girls at the end of the upcoming summer. So long term, your birds are on a continuous rotation in and rotation out........at least if the goal is eggs.

Extending the day by adding light may help your current birds in the short run, provided you have met all the other requirements of surviving in winter conditions while still producing eggs. Shutting down is in part a built in safety device for them to enable them to concentrate now on winter survival. Nearly all commercial flocks use supplemental light to keep them laying, but they burn through their birds pretty fast. In a commercial flock, your 2 year old birds would already be gone.

If I was to add light, it would be inside the coop and would be set on a timer to come on in the early morning hours only. Let the day end as usual to let them ramp down the day during the normal evening dusk, such that they go to roost. To put in on a timer to shut down suddenly after dark might leave them running around lost in the dark.

 

[kjstanton]

Thanks for your ideas. I found and ordered some rope lights for inside the coop and am going to try to hang it a bit outside (in the run) too, so I can see when I go out there. This way I can still set a timer and the plug in part will be outside the coop, yet still in a covered area.