Baby Chick Cage Idea for Lighting

[dris73]

My little trick for a little lighting in the babies house without using electricity. I use the solar lights that are .97 you can get at dollar store or walmart. I keep them outside all day to charge then take the light part and put it on the top if the cage. So far its working. They fuss for a few min to get settled but its not dark and they hate the dark lol. They are 6 weeks and dont require the heat light and its 90 degrees outside and 75 inside.
You can view my hens and babies on instagram to

look for carrie.dris

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They don't need any light at night and should have 8+ hours of darkness. They may fuss when the lights go out but then settle down.

 

[dris73]

My girls all the big hens have a small light in their house at night and its solarized very dim. Ive been doing this with all my hens. Some people use lights at night some dont and they are definitely not bright. This also has not interfered with their egg product ion

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Dim is good. Very dim is better. Darkness is best.
I know that many people use a nightlight with their chickens.
Darkness exposure is extremely important for chickens.

Studies show that poultry and most animals do best with hemeral lighting. A light period and a dark period each day.
Birds given a dark period will be more active during the day. That activity contributes to leg strength.
Birds kept under 24 hours of light will panic with a power outage.
A dark period is necessary for proper rest and to better digest their food.
Birds given the longest dark period in studies were the most efficient at feed conversion.
Bird welfare is best with between 14 and 17 hours of light.
An official directive published by the Council of the European Union (2007) has regulated the minimum amount of darkness required for broilers. They regulate that a minimum of 6 hours of darkness in every 24 hour period are required for poultry welfare.
Lack of darkness in a broiler photoperiod program has been shown to have a number of negative implications based on biological or physiological processes - particularly due to skeletal and metabolic disorders. (Classen and Riddell, 1989; Lewis et al., 1996; Brickett 4 et al., 2007b).
If melatonin is important, then exposure to darkness is a requirement for bone health.
A diurnal pattern of light and dark exposure plays a major role in the formation of the bone matrix.
Circadian rhythms have been suggested to be important in the growth of the eye. Eyes grow during the light period and stop growing during the dark. This is related to the production of melatonin and the expression of the melatonin receptors related to eye growth. The exposure to constant light disrupts the rhythm of eye growth, resulting in eyes that are abnormally large with an abnormal shape (Li et al., 1995).
Exposure to darkness also improves immune response and reduces stress.

The following is an excerpt from a document by ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture.
"Birds need a dark period for good health. They only produce melatonin—a hormone important in immune function—during dark periods. Welfare programs usually require at least four to six hours of dark daily, with some of the organic programs requiring eight hours of darkness. Many alternative poultry producers use only natural light and therefore have a long dark period. Dark periods can be especially helpful for fast-growing broilers in the first weeks of life to slow growth, build frame, and reduce leg disorders. (Baby chicks, however, need 24 hours of light the first three days to ensure that they learn to find food and water.) In contrast, the conventional poultry industry uses long light periods to encourage feed consumption and weight gain by fast-growing broilers, because birds do not eat in the dark. When birds have a dark period, they are more active during the light period than birds that have continuous light.
Light intensity is measured in foot-candles (fc) in the U.S. (the amount of light emitted by a standard candle at one foot away; lux is a metric measurement). For example, a brightly-lit store may be 100 fc while a home is usually 10 fc. Alternative poultry production tends to use a higher light intensity than conventional. Most welfare programs require at least 1 fc. Light intensity above 1 fc leads to increased activity, which can reduce leg problems but results in decreased weight gains. A curtain-sided house may have a light intensity of 200 fc or more when the sun is overhead, but depends on cloud cover. The conventional industry typically keeps light intensity low in poultry houses to reduce activity and gain weight more efficiently. The conventional industry uses about 0.5 fc or less, similar to a moonlit night, for broilers and layers.

Both conventional and alternative egg producers use artificial lighting to stimulate production during days of declining natural light, resulting in a more constant supply of eggs. Small-scale producers often use 14 hours of light for layers. Generally the light period should not be longer than the longest day of the year. Day length should not be increased for young growing pullets or they will begin producing eggs too soon; likewise, day length should not be decreased for layers and breeders in production or they will stop producing eggs."

http://umaine.edu/publications/2227e/
http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/Avian/pfs14.htm
http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/avian/pfs13.htm
http://www.poultry.msstate.edu/pdf/extension/home_floks.pdf
http://ecommons.usask.ca/bitstream/...9/SCHWEAN-LARDNER-DISSERTATION.pdf?sequence=3
http://www.hyline.com/aspx/redbook/redbook.aspx?s=4&p=23

 

[dris73]

Good reading and thank you for sharing. Its very dim in the cage and hen house and id say just as dim or less than a night light. So far this has worked for me and the girls and i will continue to do what im doing. If i see them acting stressed or anxiety then i will rethink

 

[Mims]

I wonder how chickens in Alaska fare? That's got to be rough on them, with the long and short day and night periods. Sorry, just my random musings....

 

[dris73]

I wonder how chickens in Alaska fare? That's got to be rough on them, with the long and short day and night periods. Sorry, just my random musings....

Where i live in ct right now the sun sets at 8:30ish my girls walk into their house on roost by 8pm. My sister in ohio its still somewhat bright at almost 10 pm. Chickens adapt to the surroundings and we also adjust to them lol