Night lights

[HayleyB]

Our grablight we attached to one of the chairs provides light on the timer at the plug (off at 9pm on again 7am) but the girls tended to huddle under it last winter as it gave off a small amount of warmth which was nice for them before bedtime.

[Bramble-Poultry]

The only real benefit to installing alight that I can see is to allow yourself the chance to sortthe birds - if you work full time you leave in the dark and get home in the dark so checking your birds can become a bit difficult. an installed light would allow you that extra time to get them sorted out in.

[di]

Not sure how well they'll work but we've got a couple of Led Lights for that purpose(being able to see to put them in & sort them out in the winter)They're only cheapy ones sold for camping,but hopefully they'll give us enough light to do the job.You can either hang it from the cieling or stick it to the wall.

[pdblake]

I have a torch and several children to hold it

[Bramble-Poultry]

Ahh same methodology as in this house!!!

[di]

Just tricky when you're on your own with noone to hold it!
I was going to get Andi one of those hats with a torch attatched,but when I went to get one at Aldi's they'd sold out.

[RichmondHens]

No-one seems to want to help me that often! Usually have a method of bird in one hand, torch balanced on shelf (if I'm doing the stable ones) or tucked under my chin (if I'm in the field) or balanced somewhere on top of a coop!

[bluemoon]

It's unnatural for the hens to lay in winter, so is it unethical / cruel to force them?

I have to agree with this. What did initially worry me was that in midwinter, with 16hrs of darkness they might struggle to consume sufficient food during daylight. I've simply bought breeds which are well known to be hardy and were originally bred in Northern Europe or North America. A small amount of corn before bed to keep them warm and a snug chicken house are probably the only things they'll require. At the moment I'm giving loads of eggs away, it just means that in winter I won't be able to be so generous.

[RichmondHens]

I normally try and hatch some girls early in the Spring so they come into lay in autumn and then go through the winter, but this year the first hatches were all cocks, so I will be lacking winter eggs from the big girls. The bantams however should hopefully keep going, although the older ones will most likely stop for a bit. There are a few youngsters who are looking as if they will be in lay before too long, so fingers crossed I won't have to buy any.

[Polly Fouracre]

If you can manage it a couple of Khaki Campbell ducks bought as point of lay now will lay through the winter.

[bluemoon]

We've bought a couple of those large torches, the square bodied ones with a handle on top and a light which can be angled. These, we hope, will help during winter as they sit where they are put and the light can be adjusted to where it's needed. Don't know if they'll be any good yet, but do know that the batteries cost nearly as much as the torch.