# Coop Skylight Necessary?



## mdirks (Nov 14, 2012)

My basic chicken coop plans have been ever evolving because of my continued research. I think i have as much figured out as i need to. I do have one last thing that i'm not sure about. The basic plan i started with and modified to suite my needs has a large skylight in the roof covering a third of it in the center. My question is, Is a skylight really needed?" I understand light can be manipulated to get the hens to lay at off times, but is light that important in the coop? So before all you wonderful people answer my questions let me just fill you in on a bit of info. i live in southern arkansas. We have some pretty hot summers, and the winters can get a bit chilly (nothing compared to illinois). The roof will already have ventilation going from back to front and i'm going to add additional windows with wire for vents also. Chickens being very productive in the wintertime is not a concern to me and my wife since we will be the only ones eating the eggs. Thanks for you thoughts and if you have any more questions throw them my way.


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## Bird_slave (Oct 26, 2012)

A skylight would be nice, but isn't necessary and may leak as time goes on. 
Once I close all the shutters and doors on my coops in the wintertime, I cover the "screened" (hardware cloth covered) door with heavy duty plastic; the same stuff folks use to cover their house windows around here. It provides enough light for the birds to get up and down off the roosts safely, eat, drink and get to their nestboxes. 
If with everything covered and closed up you can still make out the print on a newspaper, it's bright enough. 

I have to go out to my coops in a bit. I'll get you a pic of how much light my largest coop has in the wintertime.


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## Bird_slave (Oct 26, 2012)

Well, saved myself a trip since I found a pic on my computer for demonstration. 
This is a pic of my largest coop while it was still under construction. It's 12 ft. X 14 ft. and has solid outer doors on the exterior that can be closed. During the wintertime, I cover both sections of the front in plastic sheeting, On nice days both outer doors are opened, allowing in plenty of light. On cold, nasty days only the outer door on the left is open, but even just that small square at the top lets in enough light. There is a small window (less than a foot square) at the rear of the coop that is left open yearround for ventilation, but as the coop sits backed up to some trees it doesn't add much in the way of light.


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## Bird_slave (Oct 26, 2012)

Also keep in mind, where we live summertime heat is going to be more of an issue than wintertime cold. Chickens can handle cold alot better than they can heat. The long section on the right has two heavy duty hooks just above it. That's where I hang my box fan in the summertime.


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## kiwicsi (Sep 24, 2012)

I'm very new to keeping chickens but I have noticed that they go to bed and rise with the sun which can be a bit of a pain in the early morning. Not so much for me, but I can't help but think the neighbours might not like it (we live in a town and have 3 backyard chooks). The last thing I would want is a skylight as I want it to be as dark as possible in their sleeping area until I get out there and feed them  So every night I make sure their little sliding door to the nesting/roosting area is shut. Still, they're always clucking and ready to go when I open it up the next morning!


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