The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: devokewater on November 22, 2010, 11:50:23 am
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Hi
Does anyone have a clever solution (homemade even) for running a timer for chicken lighting when the hen house is away from the mains. Perhaps some battery/solar power arrangement and low consumption LEDs?
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tried solar lighting... they just werent built to last, even the expensive ones!
we wired up the security/spot light for the goats and pig shed (yes, goats will chew the wires!) but need to think carefully about the chicken sheds, to give them a few hours more light.
be interesting to hear what other, more technical people have done... :)
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12 volt leisure battery 2 small 25 Whot 12 v lamps scrap yard lasts 1 week 2 houres a day just charge each week
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By all means try independent lighting but - if it is not too difficult or too far - you'd probably end up better laying some tough cable out there. That gives you options for cheap timers and basic kit for lighting.
you can get a lot of cable for teh price of a good quality leisure battery and the fittings will be fairly economical.
Ask around to see if you can get some reclaimed SWA cable at scrap price - again if the distance is not too great.
Good luck
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If the lighting is so they keep on laying eggs in winter, remember that it also shortens their laying life. They only have a set number of eggs in them.
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How far away from the mains are we talking?
As others have said connecting to the mains is the best long term solution, however other solutions are possible (though solar is probably not one of them just yet to be honest).
I've installed a 12 volt time clock on an (off mains) alarm system, can't find the details right now.
LED lamps are available.
In my experience standard lorry batteries are better than leisure batteries in this type of application (I know they shouldn't be)
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I have to say i had the same problem when i was trying to tend all the beasts.
Untill I bought solar liggts from b and q which have been great you get a wee solar panel about 4 inch by 6 inch and a leg to fix it to the house and about 2 meters of cable and a light with a pull cord, the light is 4 wee leds in a case that makes it look like a bigger ligh t this has been great ove the past few months i have even left the turkeys one on for a few extra hourse each night to try to get them to put on some more weigh lol
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we had one of those Ddhens, it was brill for about a year then packed up. cant find how to fix it
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We wired electricity to the goat shed (100 m from the house, it is thicker than the normal cables in the house, but I am not the DIY person in this house)with a short extension to the neighbouring hay/lambing shed and also now have a cable running out to the hen house from the goathouse (about 20m), just a standard plugged in cable). Just standard timer. works well.
But it seems the cold is just too much, eggs aplenty until the beginning of this week, now only 1 or so per day (from 13 hens). Cockerel also seems to be a lot quieter....
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We wired electricity to the goat shed
we did too .... then they ate the cable!!
goodness knows how they got to it, it was a feat of gymnastics & contortionist!!