Do you think it is cruel or just ok?
It's very ok. If you're raising egg layers in a commercial scale you'll appreciate why I said that. If you don't give them additional light during the winter or rainy season, you're in for a major loss in your business. Who want that?
It is only some backyard chicken owners with few birds that may decide not to give extra light. But so far as you raise birds in commercial quantity and you feed them balanced feed, it's very advisable to give additional light.
It helps a lot and at the same time it prolong dia egg production
Why shud it be cruel? I wonder how some people think. They see animals as their sisters or wife.