[Womble]

I designed my own hen house door opener using an industrial programmable logic controller I just happened to have lying around  . While I was at it though, I added a timer output for some hen house lights.

The logic I used was that if it has been dark outside for more than 9 hours, turn on the internal lights until it DOES get light outside. Then open the pophole to let the hens out, and turn off the lights. This is because I'd read that hens need 14 hours of daylight to lay, so this system should in theory ensure they get at least 15 hours a day of either natural or artificial light (24-9 = 15).

This worked well in the autumn, but the original lights blew in September, and I only just got around to fixing them the other day.  HOWEVER, what now happens is that it gets dark about 4pm, the door locks at 4.30pm, then they sleep until the lights wake them up at 1.30am  . They then party in the coop  (they have food and water) until the door opens at 8am, whereupon they go outside and scratch about for a couple of hours, before going back to bed at about 10:30am, looking a bit jet-lagged and confused! 

You're all allowed to laugh at me - I'm laughing at myself too. However, could somebody please tell me what timer settings I should actually use?  .

P.S. They are at least laying again now!!

[oor wullie]

We give ours a long lie in the morning and their light doesn't come on until about 3am.  The then have sufficient energy to continue their party outdoors all day.
This means they only get 12 or 13 hrs light so they are probably not laying at optimum rates (and the ones that moulted when we had the light off for a month in autumn have been slow to get going again) but it seems to be a good enough compromise that keeps both us and the hens happy.

[farmers wife]

our hen house (75no) is inside the barn over winter.  Our light comes on by the flick of a switch at 7ish and they are let out.  We switch off (natural light dependant) and back on later in day.  We switch off one side around 8pm and the background light 8.30. We shut the door. This gives us 12hrs ish.  I find half of them are laying. Because on mains and high industrial lighting I cant set a timer.

[Stereo]

I personally feel that lighting should only be used in a BIG house. That's big enough for them to walk around and scratch etc. Shutting hens in a small shed and leaving a light on is asking for trouble in my opinion.

[Womble]

OK, it's not a barn, but they've got 9ft2 of space each, so it's not particularly cramped either!

What sort of trouble are you anticipating Stereo?  Bullying?

[Stereo]

Yes, certainly with my birds, if I go in at night with a torch they start pecking at each other. I've got a 12x8 shed for roosting with about 40 birds in and while it's fine for roosting and laying, I wouldn't shut them in it while it was light outside. Other flocks may differ. These are mixed hybrids. To be fair I don't get the same issues with my Rhode reds who seem much more passive.

[Polyanya]

Womble I used to use artificial lighting when I first started keeping hens and it was just a simple household timer set to come at 3.30 pm and go off at 8.00 pm, I never bothered with morning light.

These days I just make sure I have all my prospective layers hatching in April so they are always laying by mid Autumn and then lay right through winter without any lighting. Bear in mind that living in Shetland I have the least light available in the UK, so dusk here is between 2.45 and 3.15pm depending on the weather and it doesn't get light until around 8.30 am ish. I keep 6 laying hens and have lots of eggs even sell some.