Need some ideas on lighting

[darkmatter]

Quote:
Check out the Coop pics on my BYC page, I don't have water or electricity run to my coop. Haven't for over 15 years since I built it . Yes the chickens will taper off in the winter but will resume with a vengeance in the spring. I think the natural cycle is less stressful on the chickens and they live longer.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
So at that latitude, your shortest day (on the winter solstice) is, what, maybe 10 hrs long?

You will probably experience a dip in egg production, especially in future years when the hens are older, but I would not be surprised if it is a fairly mild and brief dip. Unless you are really serious about maximizing egg production all the time, it mightn't be unreasonable to try it without extra light, at least this first year, and see what happens.

(Although I should add that if you try it without and then change your mind in, like, early December, there typically is a lag between when you add lighting and when their laying picks back up, so you might still have several weeks of being a little thin on eggs).

Remember btw that eggs for cooking purposes freeze quite well, so however many you might want to use that way (as opposed to egg sales or for making breakfast eggs) you can sock away extras in the freezer in Sept and Oct.

Good luck, have fun whichever way you decide,

Pat

 

[will hunt for food]

Yeah, I think I am going to let it ride without extra lighting this year, and then make a decision for next Fall. Thanks.

 

[chookchick]

Quote:
Pat--Your chickens read the newspaper?

Man, mine really are dumb, I don't believe they can read at all. I guess you would have to have smart chickens...

 

[will hunt for food]

Only my Barred Rock can read when she puts on her reading glasses.

 

[fiddleblue]

HOw far from your house is the henhouse? You might do as I did and run an extension cord over to the henhouse to a junction box there and then wire everything in from that. NOt strictly kosher but it is easier than laying conduit 8 to 12 inches underground the whole way.

 

[Judy]

I live at 31L and do not use artificial light and had no decrease in egg production last winter. For what it's worth.

 

[NMbirds]

OK, I am at 36.21 L and 6,000 ft altitude so I would like any recommendations, suggestions befitting that type of location. Thanks in advance.

 

[ginbart]

Let me tell you an easy way so you don't loose egg production. Do what I did and get twice as many chickens.

I have RIR's and they didn't stop much during the winter.

 

[Cindy in PA]

I installed my solar spotlights yesterday & with a total of 9 LEDs between 3 lights it is semi bright! It casts shadows & when I got home at 10 pm they were all huddled inside the door & looking up at me looking in the window. Don't know if it will help with egglaying, time will tell. It will help them go in & get situated at night. They probably went on around 7:30pm as it's dark here by 8 and when I went to bed at 1 a.m. they were out. My husband went to bed at 11:30 and he said they were on then. So they might have been on 5 hours, a little too long for right now, but OK for the dark of winter. Will see what happens as time progresses.