Adding lighting!?

[thudson]

I am planning on a new project for my coops---- lighting of some type. We have been using flashlights when we go out to our coops after sundown. But it is not always efficient or safe. In recent years we have had the usual snake problem. Rat snakes, chicken snakes but more lately Copperheads. I quite often worry about my wife reaching to get eggs and there be an unfriendly just sitting waiting to strike. She is not quite as cautious as she should be. We often times work late and due to our schedules have to gather eggs in the dark. To accommodate this problem I am considering adding tap lights to the coops or running an extension cord from a GFI outlet on our back porch light and hang a small floodlight in each of our coops. The lights would only be own when a switch is flipped on our back porch to light our coops only long enough to gather eggs and to check on all the girls safely. Any opinions on this? Will the lights bother the girls while they are roosting too much? Or will they get used to this like everything else? Story time: The reason for this is a few years back my dad has a coop similar to mine. He and my brother got in late but went to check on his girls and gather eggs. As they got to the coop and were entering my brother caught movement down around the 7 gallon waterer. It was a 5 1/2 foot rattlesnake. He was not happy being disturbed and was coiling up and rising up to strike. My little brother who was young at the time (about 13) took off running with the only flashlight. He had left my dad alone in the dark with a ticked off rattlesnake. Lucky it was a full moon and my dad was able to still see the snake, grab a hoe that was in the corner of the coop, and dispatch the snake. It all worked out that night. My brother will never live that down, but I just don't want that to happen to my wife. I don't think she could handle that very well.

 

[HannaKessler]

Chickens are sensitive to light, as it affects their circadian rhythm as well as laying. This is because their skulls are actually thin enough that the light hits their brain and interacts with the pituitary gland. However, (at least for laying) this system is one of thresholds, based on the number of hours of daylight in order to tell what time of year it is for laying. A few minutes of extra light a day would not negatively affect laying, in fact artificial lighting can prevent molting and extend the laying period if you so desired (though this can put a strain on the birds). You may disturb your birds' sleep somewhat with the light by waking them up, but in my experience chickens sleep pretty soundly and would not stir when a flashlight was shined on them.

Overall, your safety and that of your wife is more than worth the possible drawbacks of light exposure to your birds, especially if you limit it to only when you are in the coop.

 

[thudson]

Chickens are sensitive to light, as it affects their circadian rhythm as well as laying. This is because their skulls are actually thin enough that the light hits their brain and interacts with the pituitary gland. However, (at least for laying) this system is one of thresholds, based on the number of hours of daylight in order to tell what time of year it is for laying. A few minutes of extra light a day would not negatively affect laying, in fact artificial lighting can prevent molting and extend the laying period if you so desired (though this can put a strain on the birds). You may disturb your birds' sleep somewhat with the light by waking them up, but in my experience chickens sleep pretty soundly and would not stir when a flashlight was shined on them.

Overall, your safety and that of your wife is more than worth the possible drawbacks of light exposure to your birds, especially if you limit it to only when you are in the coop.

Thanks for the information. I did know the lighting would affect their laying that is why we are going to only limit use while we are in the coop. We mainly will only need it during the fall and winter months. But the winters have been mild so now apt to run into an unfriendly which is what my wife does not want. She can handle everything with a chicken but not a snake. Thanks again for your input.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Agreed that chickens are pretty heavy sleepers and even if you wake them up with a bit of light, they should go back to sleep pretty quickly once it's out.

Another idea (if you don't want to run extension cords, install permanent fixtures, etc) are those cheap battery-operated LED lights. You could just mount those strategically if cheap-and-easy is an acceptable solution? Red LED lights might not even wake the birds up. Might not

 

[jthornton]

A few minutes of light will not bother them, I do it all the time. You should look at snake proofing your coop if they are a problem. I've watched mine on camera well after dark and they are moving about stretching and of course pooping.

JT

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

I would work on snake proofing your setup to start, besides the obvious danger they steal eggs.

Gary

 

[thudson]

Agreed that chickens are pretty heavy sleepers and even if you wake them up with a bit of light, they should go back to sleep pretty quickly once it's out.

Another idea (if you don't want to run extension cords, install permanent fixtures, etc) are those cheap battery-operated LED lights. You could just mount those strategically if cheap-and-easy is an acceptable solution? Red LED lights might not even wake the birds up. Might not

I am actually looking at the LED lighting. Thanks for the type.

 

[thudson]

I would work on snake proofing your setup to start, besides the obvious danger they steal eggs.

Gary

What kind of snake proofing do you suggest. I know one of them is coming from under the floor of one coop?

 

[HoopyFrood]

What kind of snake proofing do you suggest. I know one of them is coming from under the floor of one coop?

Is the coop on the ground (i.e dirt floor)? I put my coop on stilts so I could more easily see rodent/snake holes. Regardless a 1/4" hardware cloth skirt around the base is what I've used as a barrier. Either partially buried or running horizontally out (you can see this on my run in the "My Coop" link under my avatar. You just have to deal with the sharp edges so chickens, pets, people, etc, don't snag on them. Nasty cuts...

 

[lazy gardener]

Would 1/2" hdw cloth keep those snakes out? I'm so very glad I live in Maine! No poisonous snakes here. The biggest issue I see with your plan is that the hens may come down off the roost when the light goes on. But, Your wife's safety is paramount.