Monday, December 3, 2012

Bright Ideas


I have reached the breaking point.

Layer pellets are $17 for 50 lbs up here now.

My flock free ranges most of the time and have plenty of water, pellets, scratch, treats and kitchen scraps available.

I have 6 hens, and the 2 male ducks have not transformed back into females yet, so I am only getting 1 egg per day.

I have read the pros and cons of putting a big light bulb in the coop to keep it warm and to entice the hens to continue laying.

Since our electricity frequently goes out during times of storms, flooding and wind, I can not depend on electricity and I did not want the hens to acclimate to a warmer coop and then have them go "cold turkey" when the electricity goes out. I have heard bad stories of what happens in those kinds of situation.

Top that off with questionable wiring in the nearest electrical outlet which is 20 feet from the coop and a new snow plow driver with a tall truck and I am facing several issues against the plans I made in September to simply string an electrical cord from the garage to the coop and plug in a light over the waterer.  When the coop was built last spring I had intentionally had a hole cut in above the door so I could run an extension cord 7 feet up and over from the garage to the coop.  Well once I saw the plow truck I knew nothing would work and if I did try to plug something in that I risked a major fire.

My cooking causes enough issues so I didn't want to add the coop to the local fireman's worries.

But today I bought another bag of layer pellets $$$ and came home to ONE EGG in the nest box...and I felt something snap in my brain.

I reviewed the issues and then took a ride to the local store and came home with 2 small solar powered lights.

The largest is the kind you use to light your pathways to your house.

It was $4.37.




The second one was a dragonfly tea light.

I thought it was $3.50 but it was rung up at $7.96



The first thing I did with the candlestick type light was unscrew it and pull the orange tab OUT so the smal solar panel at the top would now start working.





I placed it on the window sill at the front of the south facing coop, which gets the sunrise from the East and most of the daytime sun.  I put it in at 3 pm and today is a dark, gray, dull day. I don't think it has enough time to charge up and shine for tonight.



The dragon fly tea light fit thru the hole above the door perfectly.  And I aimed it at where I thought the sun might show up later in the week.



I might put it at the other end of the coop if I doesn't work out here.



On the inside of the coop I tied down the rod holding the dragonfly so it would be balanced and not fall out.
I don't think this will be a very bright light, but I think it will produce something.


I had to hammer a fence staple in to tie the hay string down.

I use haytwine and ductape almost every day... I don't know what I would do without it.

How about you?



I also reset my 2 varmint traps that I have sitting on the big shelf in the coop.

I had a persistent chubby red squirrel coming into the coop during the day while I was at work and eating lots of laying pellets 2 weeks ago.  I was going thru pellets much faster than necessary so I set a trap and captured him within 12 hours.

He has been, as we say, "relocated."



Here is the update on the lights:

At 5 pm the dragonfly tea light is working very well.
I did not know it, but it changes color every 20 seconds.   Orange, blue, green, purple.   Very pretty.
Probably the reason it was $7.96
It is not very bright.   Will see how much better it will get with more charging by the sun tomorrow.

The candlestick light needs more sun to charge it.
Right now there is a very dull glow from it.  I have faith that it will be much brighter once it has some sunlight to power it up.

I will add more updates right here, tomorrow evening to let you know if the investment was worth it or not.

Are any of you using solar powered lights to induce your flock to keep laying ?

Or any other creative methods to keep them warm and working ?

UPDATE 12/4/12
Its been another gray, dull day with no sunlight.

The dragonfly light is presently changing all kinds of psychedelic colors in the coop.  It is not bright enough to make any difference in the egg status but sure is a conversation piece when you visit the coop!

The candlestick light is doing nothing. Not enough sun to charge it up.
I brought it out of the coop tonight and stuck it in the ground to see if it will get more power that way tomorrow.

Will let you know what happens.
Anyone know when we will see some real sunshine ?

UPDATE 12/8/12
There has not been enough sun to charge the candlestick, all week.
I did stick it in the ground outside the coop on Wednesday to see if that would help with the sun access.  When I drove into the driveway Wednesday night it was nice to see a little light shining in front of the coop.  
In summary, I would have to say that I need a larger solar light inorder to get the minimum 25watt bulb requirement.  I will continue to explore the possibilites.
~

16 comments:

  1. The solar lights are a great idea! I never thought of that! I would say just make sure they have enough food and water. I notice that sometimes when either of those runs low for my chicks they rebel and stop laying. Also, do they go outside of the fenced area? They may be laying somewhere other than your nesting boxes. Mine don't like nesting boxes, and prefer to lay in a corner of the coop, or under the coop...or in the compost pile :-) This is only my first year with chickens though, so I am not sure I have any good ideas for you. Thanks for visiting my blog!

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  2. I don't use solar lights, but it sounds like a "bright" idea. :) I think I may try it. Need to find a way to mount it on the wall so that the chickens don't roost on it. My 8 hens have stopped laying for a month now and I'm getting impatient.

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  3. This is what I need!! We don't have electricity in our coop either, and I've resorted to selling half of my hens and getting new pullets in the spring. The guy at the hatchery told me that all they need is the equivalent of a 25 watt bulb, so I'm guessing you'll have plenty of light. Let us know how it goes!

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  4. What a wonderful post! I love your blog and am a new follower. I raise chickens and ducks and blog about farm life at Fresh Eggs Daily. We don't light our coop - we just buy more chickens so we get enough eggs all winter. I would love for you to come visit and share at my weekly Blog Fest: http://fresh-eggs-daily.blogspot.com/2012/11/farm-girl-blog-fest-11.html

    Lisa
    Fresh Eggs Daily

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  5. I've been reading your blog for quite a long time but this is my first time commenting. :-) I have three old hens now (10 yrs or so) and my flock is not laying at the moment. However they laid during the summer. Most of my flock has died over the past two years and when these three old girls kick the bucket I'll start a new flock after these many years. Anyway...I don't fight it. No lights, no heat, no layer pellets EVER. The flock has always free ranged in the day and had free choice all grain mix to round out their daily ration. They also get scraps. I can't see the reason to give layer pellets when they are laying well and have access to all the good stuff nature puts out there. I also never saw the logic in giving layer pellets when they weren't laying either. Anyway, it works here. Until the last year or so when the girls got really old they laid pretty consistently all through their long lives--taking off during molt, extreme cold and extreme hot weather---everybody needs a vacation. My coop isn't set up well for safe lighting either. I've thought of the solar lights too for chore times since I get home after dark and would like the chickens to be able to have a snack at that time to help them through the cold nights. Will be real interested in seeing your results!
    Tammy (sorry so long!)

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  6. Clever idea, Janis! I'm curious to hear the update!
    I would like to invite you to join me at the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/12/clever-chicks-blog-hop-10-rural.html

    I hope you can make it!
    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino
    The Chicken Chick

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  7. Not solar powered per se here. But here's the scoop on lighting for hens. It has to be a minimum of 60 watts, not more than 10' from the hens. And more crucial, they must have a minimum of 14 hrs of this light to continue laying.

    Also, it should have started not later than the fall equinox, when light was only 12 hrs. But starting now, if the light meets the minimums, will eventually net more eggs. It might take a couple weeks though.

    The best time is in the morning, if you want ease of getting them in the coop at night. Ideal would be extending both ends: morning and night.

    The other thing to consider is age. The second year of laying tapers off, usually.

    Regarding feed costs, we bought organic layer yesterday and it was $27.59/50# for Nature's Best. We found we had far less problems and healthier hens if they started and continued on organic feeds. But the cost.... It's only going to get worse until the crops come in next fall.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, warm. That first year we used red heat lamps to keep the bell waterer running. No other light. They aren't supposed to see red light. And no one told the hens. I was often 100% ROL and seldom less than 90% that winter.

    Until it got warm. The lamps were plugged into Therm-Cubes:
    http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=21548&criteria=thermo-cube

    and went off when the temps rose in late February. The laying stopped pretty quickly, to resume in late March when the light approached 13 hrs again.

    We insulated 2 walls of the coop when we built it, and made sure it was not drafty, but was ventilated. And we did not plan to heat the coop. It was the waterers...

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  9. Hi Janis,

    I know what you mean about the cost of all feed going up so much. I'm only getting 3 eggs a day right now, but that's enough for just me and Princess, who is eating two of them each day now. Goat food has gone up too and it makes it a challenge to cut my own food bill to compensate. My animals are just pets, but that is where a big portiion of my budget goes each week - feeding them.

    Until last fall, I ran a long extension cord from my garage to the barn to run a fan in the summer and a radio 24/7 (talk radio to help deter predators). Well the last big lightening storm fried my cords and outlets in the garage. That goodness there wasn't a fire. I borrowed enough money to have electricians run power to the barn and it's so nice now. I turn the light on when I leave work in the morning so that I can see to close up the barn when I get home. Hopefully, this will deter a few predators in the 45 minutes that it's dark before I get home.

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  10. That's a creative way to get light into your coop! I never thought about using solar lights. I'm curious as to if it will work for you or not. We don't use lights to keep our flock laying and they have really slowed down lately. We usually just cut way back on our egg consumption in the winter time and hoard the eggs!

    Visiting from The Backyard Farming Connection.
    Tammy
    ourneckofthewoods.net

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  11. I bought 6 puck shaped LEDs and put two in the coop. I put in rechargeable batteries. They came in a pack of six and work on a remote. There is a 30 minute setting. Since they had already quit laying I plan on using them after the solstice for just 30 minutes at lock up and in the morning before sun up.

    Hopefully they will start up a bit earlier

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Cathy, Can you tell me the name brand of those hockey puck lights please. What was the cost ?
      I like the idea of a remote!
      If you can take a photo of them and email it to me, that would be good too: tailgaitfarm@aol.com
      Thank you!

      Delete
  12. UPDATE 12/4/12
    Its been another gray, dull day with no sunlight.
    The dragonfly light is presently changing all kinds of psychedelic colors in the coop. It is not bright enough to make any difference in the egg status but sure is a conversation piece when you visit the coop!

    The candlestick light is doing nothing. Not enough sun to charge it up.
    I brought it out of the coop tonight and stuck it in the ground to see if it will get more power that way tomorrow.

    Will let you know what happens.

    Anyone know when we will see some real sunshine ?

    ReplyDelete
  13. I've been watching the stats online for our PV solar panels. So far, only about 3 of 7 days makes much power at all, this fall. This is typical for New England. So I suspect your solar items will not get enough light to be effective. Plus you are that much farther north of me. Also you need to take any kind of shading (trees, buildings, etc.) into consideration.

    The light regulating laying needs to be consistent, every day, and sufficient.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I feel exactly the same as you after buying that expensive feed. I haven't seen a single egg out of 15 hens in over a month. And for a month or two before that I was only getting about one egg per day. I am not a happy woman with those chickens right now. I've had them slow down quite a bit in shorter days (we haven't had too much real cold here yet), but never had them totally stop for such a long time before. :(

    ReplyDelete
  15. UPDATE 12/8/12
    There has not been enough sun to charge the candlestick, all week.
    I did stick it in the ground outside the coop on Wednesday to see if that would help with the sun access. When I drove into the driveway Wednesday night it was nice to see a little light shining in front of the coop.
    In summary, I would have to say that I need a larger solar light inorder to get the minimum 25watt bulb requirement. I will continue to explore the possibilites.

    ReplyDelete