Does anyone use anything other than traditional electricity to power a light for their chickens? I would need to run a lonnnnng (like 200 foot) drop cord if I was to use electric.

Wondering if anyone uses a solar set up or something for doing it? BUT my chicken coop is also in the shade, so I would probably have to run 30 or so feet of cord just to get a solar panel in the sun.

Most solar light kits come with a looooong power cord just for this.

Forgive my ignorance, but why put a light in a chicken coop? Are they scared of the dark? Lol but seriously What is the reason?

Usually it's becuse they slow down laying when the days get shorter so adding a light keeps egg production up. Another thing is for heat when it's very cold.

A 3rd would be if you have to collect eggs and fill feeders often after dark. Doing it with flashlights gets old after so many years.

My coop is built on a 16' car trailer and I move it around the farm with my goats. The coop and chicken Stay inside a 42" electric net fence that way and are protected from about all predators except hawks.


I have been thinking about adding a solar panel battery's and charge controller for some lights but so far it's only been a thought. I could probably just connect it to my solar charger set up for the fence but the coup is not always close to it so there is that.

Ah, makes sense. I didn’t know the photoperiod had an effect on egg production, might have to put a light in my chicken coop. I haven’t had chickens through a winter yet, just got them this spring so I’m still learning. Thanks for the info

We added lights on a timer years ago and it made a big difference in egg production. Ours come on 3:30 AM and go off at 6:30PM giving them 15 hours of light. They get up with the morning light (well before dawn) but ignore the evening light, they go to roost at sunset no matter what.

Having the lights keeps them laying eggs all winter long.

My son and daughter in law have chickens and they don’t refrigerate the eggs. I thought crazy but he said if you don’t wash the eggs they don’t need refrigerated? Do you refrigerate yours? I will mention the light to them as days getting shorter soon here.

We refrigerate ours after the wife washes them. If they are not washed they can be stored at room temperature for up to a month. Ours never last that long though.

Washing eggs can remove the "bloom", a natural, antibacterial film on the surface of the egg.

My egg laying drops down to near nothing without a light. To the point I'm usually BUYING eggs in winter. Wanting to see if a light will help with that as I've heard that it will.

I usually have both washed and unwashed eggs. Washed ones in the fridge and unwashed on the counter.

My chicken coop has a skylight. I used to drive a Zamboni at a hockey arena. I got a piece of the glass that's about 5'x6' and we'll over 3/4" thick placed on a south facing roof. Seems to be effective for my girls.

We used to have to buy eggs in the winter too because production dropped so low. With the lights they lay almost as good as in the summer.

How long would a battery run a small led light? 12 volt RV lights aren't hard to source, a 50 watt panel, a charge controller, some wire if your panel has to be remote. I've never looked for a 12 volt timer though my solar experimenting has been with putting together a solar pump system and fence charger unit.

I guess I’ll put a light in mine then. We need all those eggs, I got three teenagers lol. I made 2 pounds of bacon and 20 eggs yesterday and they went through it like nothin.

Makes sense as the genetics or DNA of our commercial laying chickens is still a lot like wild fowl. Mating, laying and brooding are photoperiod driven. Most start early enough so that if they have a failed nest they can rebrood if the first brood is lost early. By flying north in spring the birds can gain several hours of daylight in a week. The reverse is true by going south in fall. Lot more minutes of day light in central Arkansas in December than northern WI, which means they don't reach those real photoperiod lows. I know many larger commercial operations use timers. I don't know the way many manage their lighting. I also don't know the value or harm of rapid changes versus slower transitions. Sixty five years ago we ran 1800 Hyline laying chickens in 3 coops or barns. We utilized lighting but we dealt with that manually. Our bigger issues were severe T storms that would frighten the chickens and they would crowd and you had to dig them out so they would not smother and die. Also many times after those big events they would moult and that lowers egg production a lot too.

Bryce

I had to run electric for winter water, I run one forty watt led for the shortened days, Seem to work fine.