Lighting Laying Hens: 

• Allow chicken coops to have 14-16 hours of uninterrupted light a day (18 hours max).

• It is best to add extra hours of light in the morning to your daylight timer (so the lights come on earlier). Be sure to frequently check the accuracy of your timer for best results.

• The light should be about 1 foot candle (40-watt equivalent) for a 10’ x 10’ coop at bird height. (Enough light to read typical newsprint).

  • That means a 40-watt incandescent bulb or equivalent (most LED and CFL packaging states the watt equivalent) at the normal height of a light fixture, 8-10 ft typically, will produce enough light to register 1 foot candle at bird height across a circumference of about 10feet. This equates to enough light to read typical newsprint by a person with normal or corrected reading vision.

  • The key is that whatever source or sources of light you use, you should be able to read typical newsprint without needing extra light, and it does not need to be much brighter than that to keep the birds calm. 

• Lights in the red - orange spectrum range are the best for egg production

• Install two bulbs in case one bulb fails before you notice. 

Terms to Remember:

• Duration - how long light is perceived

• Intensity - how bright light is perceived

• Wavelength - color of light

Resource: 

• Lighting for Small and Backyard Poultry Flocks