Red Lights-Eye Development Question!

[HennyB]

Here. I got this in five seconds. https://academic.oup.com/ps/article...ence-of-red-light-on-reproductive-performance
It says red light has no effect on eye development as well as no effect on other functions.

Sorry to have caused you such aggravation. Thanks for your replies.

 

[azygous]

Sorry to have caused you such aggravation. Thanks for your replies.

Please accept my apology for not moderating the tone of my replies and causing you to take offense.

 

[HennyB]

Please accept my apology for not moderating the tone of my replies and causing you to take offense.

Accepted and happy to mend fences with fellow chicken keepers.

 

[rubyedmonds]

Hi!

I recently got some chicks, and also got a red heat lamp as the heat source.
There are a few reasons I think the infrared heating lamp is a good decision:

- Since it is red, it's a lot less bright, so it is easier to rest and stay calmer.

- If a chick has an injury that caused minor bleeding, the blood will be disguised. This is important because when chicks see any chance to peck at a chick, they will happily and efficiently peck to death. (Sad.)

- The link that @azygous provided was helpful as well.

 

[Blooie]

Hi!

I recently got some chicks, and also got a red heat lamp as the heat source.
There are a few reasons I think the infrared heating lamp is a good decision:

- Since it is red, it's a lot less bright, so it is easier to rest and stay calmer.

- If a chick has an injury that caused minor bleeding, the blood will be disguised. This is important because when chicks see any chance to peck at a chick, they will happily and efficiently peck to death. (Sad.)

- The link that @azygous provided was helpful as well.

I am a firm believer that no light is better than any color light. But I know lots of people use them very successfully and their chicks grow up just fine! I prefer the totally natural day/night cycles. Chicks don't have night lights under Mama Broody Hen's wings. They go to bed when the sun goes down and they wake up when the sun comes up. That means that they get hours and hours of totally uninterrupted sleep, allowing their digestive systems to process what is in their crops and giving them a rest from constant running and activity. Those little bodies need that rest - all animals need sleep, and chicks aren't any different. Sleep that isn't disrupted by wide-awake brooder-mates tromping on them, tugging on their toes and down, and pecking at them is the way Mom does it. Just my two cents' worth.

 

[azygous]

Blooie, I second that emotion. I can't think of any human who would enjoy trying to sleep with their neighbor's outdoor flood light shining in their bedroom window. Yet we have put our baby chicks through that very same thing by flooding their brooders with bright light 24/7.

When I used a heat lamp, because there was a time before I knew there was such a thing as MHP, I felt badly for my chicks and I rigged a dark cloth between them and the light at night. It did a pretty good job of muting it so the chicks were able to sleep all night instead of partying.

Since I was already concerned about the effect of constant light on my chicks, when Blooie presented the concept of heating pad brooding, I eagerly threw away my heat lamp and embraced it. I knew immediately that it was the natural way of brooding I had been wishing for all along but didn't know it.

Have you seen Mrs K's thread on her "wool hen"? MHP may be getting some competition for a light-free/electric-free method of brooding chicks. It has exciting implications for people who can't get electricity to their coops but wish to brood outdoors. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1133855/a-wool-hen-creating-one-today

 

[Folly's place]

I have broody raised chicks, and birds raised under red heat lamps, and they all do fine. The heat blanket approach is wonderful, but not the only way. Mary

 

[Blooie]

I have broody raised chicks, and birds raised under red heat lamps, and they all do fine.  The heat blanket approach is wonderful, but not the only way.  Mary

Yep. If there was only one way to raise chicks, we could read this web site in half an hour! Teehee

 

[rubyedmonds]

@azygous @Blooie I apologize if I in any way made my opinion seem like the right answer. I was just providing my procedure. I just wanted to add that the chicks I am raising are doing just fine, and are sleeping during the night.

Didn't mean to cause any debate...? Cheers.

 

[azygous]

@azygous @Blooie I apologize if I in any way made my opinion seem like the right answer. I was just providing my procedure. I just wanted to add that the chicks I am raising are doing just fine, and are sleeping during the night.

Didn't mean to cause any debate...? Cheers.

No need to apologize. Debate is what makes BYC the terrific place it is. It's like a big old buffet. You can pick and choose whatever seems to suit your needs and pass on whatever doesn't.