Artificial lighting

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Topbird

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I have bought some p.o.l. pullets recently as my main flock are into their autumnal decline in laying and I want to maintain some egg production over the winter months. I have bought a low wattage lamp and a timer and am planning to install this as soon as I get chance, my plan is to gradually increase the light time until they have around 16 hours of light a day. I haven't bought a dimmer as I want to keep it as simple as I can, I am planning to put the light on during the night and let them roost naturally in the evening.
My main question here though is; I have a pophole on the henhouse that usually stays open, when the light comes on and it is dark outside will they stay in the hut in the light or would they assume it was daytime and go outside and stand in the dark ? If they were to go and stand outside obviously I shall be defeating my objective.
I would appreciate any advice given by you professionals out there ! Thank you.
 
The first thing I would say Topbird is that if it is hybrid layers you have bought then you won't need your light, they will lay regardless even into the shortest days. With regards to what you ask, I've never tried it but I would imagine they would stay in the light, they can't see well in the dark as I'm sure your aware, they don't like being in the open when its dark and I would doubt that they would trade the safety of the coop for this unless you were casting too much light into the run from the coop.
 
Second dinosaw's comments about hybrids. They just don't stop laying, at least not till 18 months and then only briefly.
I extended the light this time last year by an hour just so I could tidy up and give them some mash in the evening when I got home from work. Will use low voltage DC lighting on a timed dimmer if I do it again.
They will go wherever the light is, really useful if you want to get them into the roosting box, just put a dim touch in there and in they trot! If you turn off the lights abruptly they will struggle to find the ladder let alone climb it and certainly won't be able to fly onto a perch.
 
We tried 12V lighting in the coop using a timer set to come on early morning. The resulting mess led us to conclude that it wasn't worthwhile- spilled food and water and scattered bedding added extra cost. They didn't come out into the run when it was dark but got very bored in the confines of the coop I suppose. It did extend the laying period but I was told it was essential to give them a natural break for at least two weeks anyway.
 
The problem seems to be the coop system used for small domestic flocks - farmed hens kept in barns under lights don't have anywhere to go to roost naturally on a perch in darkness, so the problem of getting in and out of a dark coop doesn't arise, and this allows gradual supplementation of light to balance out the darker days. I agree with what has already been said. With young hybrids you should get good laying all through their first winter at least, without extra light, but if subsequently you did want to supplement it, it would be best to add the extra in the run in the late afternoon, to delay roosting time. You should then use a dimmer, set to reduce the light gradually over at least 20-30 minutes, so they have time to adjust and see their way to go to roost. Alternatively, add the light in the main run earlier than dawn, to encourage them to leave the coop. I don't think putting the light in the coop is a very useful idea as they need to be up and about in the run for the idea to work. They definitely won't go and stand outside in the dark, from a hen's point of view this would be a dangerous thing to do, wouldn't it?
I would also imagine that, if you intended to add light, you would need to start early enough in the year to maintain it at 16 hours, as once their systems had settled into expecting less, it would be hard to shake them out of it. This was certainly true for the quails I used to keep.
 
Been thinking about this (oh no!) I don't like the idea of triac dimmers because they are going to flicker more at low output (though they are also going to be the most readily available.)
But mains timers are very cheap. 4 on a plug board serving 4 incandescent bulbs could taper the light at both ends of the day and would be very adjustable (I.e. the last lamp could be a 15W fridge bulb, just enough light to see them off to roost)
 
Thank you all for your generous replies, yes the birds I have bought are hybrids, they look as though they will need another month before they start laying anyway. However being as I have already bought some lighting equipment I am fairly determined to give it a go and see how I get on. I am satisfied after reading your replies that the birds will remain in the hut while the light is on and will not wander outside into the dark!
 
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Just out of interest I have rigged up this bank of timed lights. They turn off in sequence with 15 mins between them. Going to put a shade on the last so it's defiantly low enough to cause roosting before it goes out.
Seems you were right about halogens Chris. The filaments run so hot that they don't seem to produce any decernable flicker.
 
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