Will chickens sleep in the coop with a light on?

jimmywalt said:

Great idea on the aquarium heater. How does that look? Do you have a picture? What does your water container look like? Thank you!

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I use an aquarium heater, too. The waterer is a 10L bucket. Only thing is, the lowest temp setting on a tank heater is like 20 or 22 degrees celsius so it probably uses more power than whatever other water heating devices are out there. I also noticed today that the water level had gone done immensely compared to non-heated summer water; so, either the chickies were hella-thirsty or an amount was lost to evaporation.

The stress from constant light mentioned in this thread: does it apply to infrared heat lamps? I've had mine on for the past two nights and was hoping to unplug it tonight, but we're having -18c with 92% humidity so unplugging it might kill the tiny white phoenix and maybe make some of the others sick? I know it's far too brutal for me to go outside, even bundled up like a siberian. The temp/humidity combo is equivalent to the -50/-60c that I experienced when I lived in bone-dry alberta. (Fyi, -65 is when people in alberta are warned not to go out due to instaneous frostbite on any exposed skin.) So I really hope I can leave their light on one more night without "messing" with them. I know the neighbourhood ducks are fine, but they're staying in the water - plus they're designed for wet (humidity) and so far everything I've seen here (byc) is chickens no humidity, must be dry! Advice?

So I live in southern va ,where it normally won't go past -5 in extremes should I not heat my coop ( it's an insulated 10x8 pump house and I have 3 road island red hens ?

We have covered my 10x10x6 kennel completely now we it tarps to give my girls a sheltered space outside their smallish raised coop. Temp at freezing with stong winds. Hubby added a drop light with a heat lamp bulb to give them light today since the tarps are green, silver and blue and interior is rather dim. It did offset the chill and the light was great. Birds active, eating, laying. But I unplugged at dusk so I could put them in coop and close their door. Very cold tonite reaching low 30s. So hubby going to turn heat lamp back on at 6 am and open their coop. He's going to add a 40 watt incandescent bulb to another drop light so it's brighter in their pen.praying for sunny days since I can put them out in my portable rUn fir garden yime?

I may have to rethink being a chicken mama.

Trying to secure their pen from predators and then to cover it as protection from extremes of weather is one thing.

Rigging up a portable pen to put them in and drag them from sunny spot to sunny spot around the yard was my choice.

But trying to explain to Thelma & Louise that it's just too cold and icy for them to have time out in the yard is impossible.

I think chickens are like toddlers. You can't explain things. You can't justify the word NO.

They want what they want when they want it.

Now I feel like a bad chicken mom.

I've gone outside 7 times since 7 a.m. this morning to go take them their treats, to make sure the water hasn't Frozen, to check the temperature in the pen.

They have water, they have food, they've had treats, they have two heat lamps, and an incandescent bulb lamp so it's like day light in there but they can go in their snug coop if they want to.

Apparently the coop is only for sleeping at night. I can hear their fowl mumbling as soon as I go outside and believe me, none of it is "good".

They are snug, dry and apparently healthy. They just aren't happy. Bad chicken Mama.

Location? Northwestern Wyoming.
Temperature the day this was taken? 9 degrees F.
Breeds visible in photo? White Chochin, Olive Egger, black Silkie, splash Silkie, Easter Egger. and in the doorway a White Orpington. The rest came outside to wander later.
Heat in the coop? None.
Insulation? None.
Lights in the coop? None
Lowest temperatures so far this winter? -24 degrees F
Temperature this morning? -22 degrees F. Wind chill? -44.
Ages of chickens? Ranging from 3 years to 8 months
Number of weather-related chicken deaths? None

These little boogers are hardier than we give them credit for. They are imminently suited for cold weather if listed as winter hardy (and even some which aren't like, like my Silkies) and when allowed to acclimate naturally. Extended light (so that total daylight hours are at about 14 hours) will encourage winter laying, but most pullets lay well the first year anyway even without extra light. This extra daylight can be provided with nothing more than a string of white Christmas lights on a timer. I don't provide extra light...my theory is that the Good Lord designed them as living critters, not as Pez dispensers for eggs, so if their little bodies want to take a break during winter to utilize their nutrition for staying warm and healthy, then that's what they'll get. I'm not above buying a dozen here or there if I need to. Water in a 5 gallon plastic bucket with horizontal nipples and a small stock tank heater rated for use in plastic has kept water available at all times. Their run is partially covered with plastic during the winter and ventilation is kept open at all times. I never, ever seal the coop against the cold, it just holds in the humidity then and the combination of cold and humidity is where problems crop up.

I can't tell anyone else how to raise their flocks. So much depends on folks' own personal comfort zones, and I'm comfortable with how well my chickens have done for me raised this way. Others might not be, and that's fine. I didn't post to "talk" anyone into anything....just share my own experiences.

I almost lost two hens at -20 Celcius because I decided they had acclimatized and didn't need heat during this cold snap. Now I bust out the heat lamps at anything under -10.
If you're concerned about light 24/7 but want to provide some heat you can use ceramic heat emitters meant for reptiles. They come in different wattages down to about 60w.

Sweeter Heaters are also a safe alternative to heat lamps and lights on all night long. As you know, @ShanandGem ,I personally deplore heat lamps in any application at all. I refuse to even use them for chicks. If it came down to losing one chicken, or losing my coop and having every one of my chickens perish in the agony of a coop fire, I'll take losing a single chicken.

urbanchick1950 said:

I may have to rethink being a chicken mama.

Trying to secure their pen from predators and then to cover it as protection from extremes of weather is one thing.

Rigging up a portable pen to put them in and drag them from sunny spot to sunny spot around the yard was my choice.

But trying to explain to Thelma & Louise that it's just too cold and icy for them to have time out in the yard is impossible.

I think chickens are like toddlers. You can't explain things. You can't justify the word NO.

They want what they want when they want it.

Now I feel like a bad chicken mom.

I've gone outside 7 times since 7 a.m. this morning to go take them their treats, to make sure the water hasn't Frozen, to check the temperature in the pen.

They have water, they have food, they've had treats, they have two heat lamps, and an incandescent bulb lamp so it's like day light in there but they can go in their snug coop if they want to.

Apparently the coop is only for sleeping at night. I can hear their fowl mumbling as soon as I go outside and believe me, none of it is "good".

They are snug, dry and apparently healthy. They just aren't happy. Bad chicken Mama.

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It's okay to be a bit paranoid, i went through that, too If they want out, let them out. If they decide they don't like the feel of ice and snow beneath their feet, they'll just go back in (and not grumble about it!) With the water, again, don't worry too much. If it froze and you slept in, they'll wait or gobble up the snow I use an aquarium heater on nights when it gets cold enough to freeze their water into a solid block of ice. Otherwise, i just punch up the surface ice in the morning with my fist if they haven't already done so with their beaks.

Blooie said:

Sweeter Heaters are also a safe alternative to heat lamps and lights on all night long. As you know, @ShanandGem ,I personally deplore heat lamps in any application at all. I refuse to even use them for chicks. If it came down to losing one chicken, or losing my coop and having every one of my chickens perish in the agony of a coop fire, I'll take losing a single chicken.

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I understand completely your mindset. I don't sleep all that well when the lamps are running, and usually get up at least once a night to peer out the windows. I check the fasteners every few days and unplug and wipe down the lamps themselves at the same time. Fixtures are secured to two separate locations with zip ties, in addition to their provided mounting hardware. I also buy new bulbs every season, which is something many people forget to do. I only use 175W lights, not the monster 250W.
When I go out just before bed to feed the horses and peek in at my chickens and there are several huddled under the lamp I know they're cold. This winter in particular has been quite harsh, temperature wise, with wild swings over the course of less than twelve hours. Our cold snaps, instead of lasting a few days, are lasting for weeks. I pay careful attention to my chickens' behavior and I can tell when they're suffering. They didn't ask for me to be their caretaker, but since I am, I am going to do my best to make sure they're living a comfortable life.
I do really like the reptile heaters though. Some of my birds seem a little agitated at night with the red light on. They are expensive, but I am gong to work on replacing my red bulbs with them.

@Blooie. My little pez dispensers don't mind the cold, but don't like to walk on snow and will stay under the coop till I shovel part of the run. My coop has feed and heated water, but no additional heat. I have a 43 watt halogen bulb under the coop in cold weather. The girls warm their combs and heads when needed. GC