Need some ideas on lighting

[will hunt for food]

I really do not want the expense of someone running electricity to my coop from the house, unless I REALLY have to. Are there other lighting options, such as recharable battery lights etc. to keep a 14 hour or so period of light through the winter? Should I just give my chickens a rest, and not use a light to keep egg production up? We are still waiting for our first egg, and it won't be long before the days are getting too short.

Will they produce eggs in the winter anyway, without the artificial light? Thanks for any replies.

 

[Wynette]

Everyone has differing opinions on lighting through winter. I prefer to NOT add artificial light. Yes, egg production goes way down; but, I feel this is nature's way of giving the chickens a break. Making eggs is hard on them! JMO. However, you will need ice-free water for them through winter. Is your coop close enough to your house that you could run a GOOD, HEAVY DUTY extension cord for an electric water bowl or chicken waterer?

 

[fldiver97]

Egg production is supposed to slow down in winter unless you "extend daylight hours". That's what I've heard/read. Regardless, I want light available too in case I have to go in after dark....I am getting ready to convert my 8x12 shed to a chicken coop with a little storage area for their supplies. I don't have electricity, would have to run an extension cord out. Don't want to do that long term. I found Solar lighting at Menards yesterday. Has a small solar panel to be mounted outside, a thin cord to connect to the light. Light has on/off switch. I got the smallest version with 10 LED lights for $20, they had 3 sizes up to $60 cost. All LED ligts. You'd have to drill a small hole to thread the cable through unless you have some other opening (like a vent). I am sure you can get this type of light at HDepot, Lowe's etc too

 

[will hunt for food]

I am wondering how bright

the LED is? My coop is close enough to my house so that the backyard flood light gives me enough illumination to walk out there to check on things, but it is dark in the coop. I think I will maybe just see what happens without winter lighting, but will consider the solar light for utility purposes.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I have a new mobile coop with bantams this year & I bought the 3 spotlight w/ remote panel setup from Lowes yesterday. These have 3 LED lights per spotlight. I charged them up last night & they are pretty bright. They will go on at dusk & last night on my dining room table, they lasted 5 hours with not much dimming. It might have had 6 hours of sun yesterday, as it got cloudy. I am concerned that they may stay on too long, but then the light does diminish, so we will see how it goes. I want to get them in the coop so they will quit huddling at the clear door and not getting their butts in. The last 3 days I've used a flourescent flashlight to get them to go in. If it helps for egg laying I will be doubly happy. My 10 week olds go in and eat & drink with just the flashlight.

 

[patandchickens]

What latitude are you at, and what breed/age are your chickens? You may or may not actually experience much of a slowdown in laying if you are not at a high latitude and/or your chickens are young and certain breeds. Actually even here, at roughly 45 degrees N where we only have about 8 hrs of daylight in December, the first year I had my ISA Browns (a red sexlink) they did not slow down at all despite zero extra lighting and a building that was, frankly, rather deficient in the natural-light department.

So, it depends.

If you really do want to add some lighting for eggs, and don't have house current available, probably the commonest solution is to pick apart one of the moderately cheap solar 'garden post' type lights you can get from Home Depot or wherever. Separate it so you can have the solar panel on the outside of the coop, facing the sun at approximately the angle of your latitude plus 23 degrees; and run the wires thru the wall so that the bulb part is inside the coop. The relatively inexpensive lights of these types have a fairly pathetic collector and battery so they will provide only dimmish light and only for a few hours, typically, but in a smaller coop that can often be quite adequate for the chickens to feel the day is longer. They really only need about enough light for you to read a newspaper, you know?

There are solar powered shed lights available (pricier) that put out more light --- BUT I do not think any BYCer has yet figured out how to add a timer to one. If you can figure it out, a lot of people would be real happy about it though

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Wifezilla]

Look for solar shed lights. $20-40 at Harbor Freight. Even if you don't use it to supplement light for egg production, it is REALLY nice having a light in the coop when you have to muck around in there after dark.

 

[will hunt for food]

I live between 35-36 degrees lat. I have windows generally facing East North East and West North West. I have 8 hens: 1 barred rock, 1 silkie, 1 black star, 1 gold lace wyandot, 2 ee's and 2 speckled sussex. The oldest birds are 21 weeks and the youngest 19 weeks. No eggs yet, but I am being patient, and expect them anytime within the next few weeks. Thanks.

 

[Cetawin]

I just use a read heat lamp bulb in the coop during the winter...keeps the coop (12' x 12') around 40 - 50 degrees. The girls did fine and they laid all winter.

I have a small LED light on the inside wall in the event I need to go into the coop at night. It just sticks on the wall and uses AAA batteries. Really lights it up in there for me to see.

 

[will hunt for food]

Good ideas, thanks.