Chicken Coop Light for Winter: Timers and Hours Hens Need

By Gaurabh Patodia · Updated 16 October 2026

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Hens slow down or stop laying in winter because the days get short. The cold isn’t the cause. Put a light on a timer so the flock gets 14 to 16 hours of light a day and most hens will keep laying through December.

Why day length controls laying

Chickens are seasonal breeders. Light enters the eye and signals the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus releases hormones that tell the pituitary gland to make FSH and LH. Those two hormones keep the ovary working.

Long days switch the system on. Short days switch it off. Brian Fairchild of University of Georgia Extension explains that hens judge day length by checking for light during a sensitive window about 11 to 16 hours after dawn. So the bird isn’t counting hours. It’s checking whether it’s still bright late in its own day.

University of Arizona Extension notes that parts of Arizona get only 9 to 10 hours of daylight in December and January. Farther north you get even less. That’s well short of what a laying hen wants.

How many hours hens need

Aim for 14 to 16 hours of total light. That means natural daylight plus whatever your bulb adds. Arizona Extension says more than 16 hours doesn’t boost laying any further. There’s no point running a light all night.

Fairchild adds one firm rule. Never let day length shrink for birds that are laying. A sudden drop can push hens into molt. Arizona warns that molt cuts egg production for 6 to 8 weeks. Even missing one or two days of light can cause a dip.

The payoff can be big. A trial funded by Southern SARE at Texas A&M University-Commerce compared two groups of pasture hens. One group lived on about 10 hours of natural daylight. The other got 14 hours with an LED on a timer. The lit hens laid 1.125 eggs each per week. The unlit hens laid 0.25.

Add the light in the morning

Put the extra hours before sunrise. Let the sun set on its own. Hens see poorly in the dark. When dusk comes naturally they drift up to the roost. When a bulb clicks off at 9 pm they get stranded on the floor.

The math is simple. Say you want 14 hours and sunset is at 5 pm. Count back 14 hours and the light comes on at 3 am. Set it to switch off about half an hour after sunrise. Arizona’s tables show lights starting as early as 3:05 am in the darkest weeks.

Arizona suggests fading any evening light out over 30 to 45 minutes. Most basic timers can’t fade. Morning light is just easier.

Sunrise shifts a little every day. Check the timer every couple of weeks and nudge it. Arizona recommends changes of 15 to 30 minutes a week. Avoid big jumps.

A basic weatherproof plug-in timer does the job for most coops. You set the on and off times with pins on a 24 hour dial. An indoor outlet timer works too when your outlet is indoors and dry. An outdoor Wi-Fi smart plug lets you change the schedule on your phone from the kitchen.

Picking the bulb

You don’t need much light. Arizona suggests one 9 watt LED or one 60 watt incandescent for every 200 square feet of coop and run. Fairchild puts the minimum for Leghorns at about 0.5 foot-candles. That’s roughly 5 lux. Heavier breeds like Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds need 2 to 5 foot-candles. A handy test: you should just about be able to read a newspaper at hen height.

Arizona prefers warm bulbs with more red and orange in them. It says warm light is closer to natural daylight.

Skip heat lamps. Arizona calls them a significant fire risk. An LED runs cool and uses little power. A low-wattage LED coop light under 10 watts is plenty for a small backyard coop.

Hang the light securely where birds can’t knock it or perch on it. Keep it away from waterers. Wipe the bulb now and then because dust cuts its output. Keep the nest boxes dim. A curtain across the front helps. Our nesting boxes guide covers where to put them. For the rest of your cold weather prep see our winterizing checklist.

Go easy on young pullets

Don’t light pullets too early. Arizona says to keep them on natural shortening days from 8 to 20 weeks of age. Early light can bring them into lay before they’re ready and raise the risk of prolapse. Start their light at around 18 weeks. Add 15 to 30 minutes a week until they reach 14 hours. Write the planned dates on the coop wall so you remember each step.

Keep reading

Read next: heated chicken waterers and coop fans for summer. Or browse the roost and climate gear in the shop.

Sources

• Lighting Schedules for Arizona Backyard Laying Flocks, University of Arizona Cooperative Extension
• Lighting Programs For Backyard Egg Production, The Poultry Site (Brian Fairchild, University of Georgia)
• Artificial Light Sources in Chicken Houses Increase Egg Laying in Hens During Fall and Winter, Southern SARE