Should I Turn My Light Off During the Day?

[chickengirl2013]

We have a spotlight in both of our runs, both of which are turned on day and night. The light in our RIR pen is inside thier building, which is where they lay eggs. Should I continue to leave the lights on 24/7 or should I buy a light with a timer on it that will turn off during the day? Does this light produce any warmth to the chickens?


This is the kind of light we have shining on the chickens 24/7

 

[4 the Birds]

I use these types of flood lights within a brooder lamp for our coop. One has a red heat bulb and I place it below poop board near a heated water container. The other is at the other end of the 12 foot long coop and clamped at about 3 ft high and pointed toward the floor. Both are in locations so that the roosting bars and nesting boxes have indirect light. The lamps for sure add warmth within the coop. The chickens can even go over and sit underneath close to them in extreme cold if needed. These lights are on 24/7 during the cold Winter months and they do a great job of adding a little warmth to the coop. The coop seems to stay about 15 deg + plus warmer than the outside temps. The coop pop doors are always open for run access and I have these openings covered and ramped to keep out cold drafts. Why do you have spotlights in the run? Our run has a roof and a few roosting bars. The run has a small access door to a 1 acre fenced in area (goat pen). Hope this helps!

 

[JackE]

I don't have any lights on in my coop, and never will. Whatever light the sun provides is what they get, and I get eggs year round. They definently don't need a flood light on them 24/7. They don't need any light on them, to keep them warm either. My coop is usually 10F warmer than the outside temp, without any added heat, and with the front of the coop wide open. Get rid of all the lights, you are just running up your electric bill and messing with the chickens natural rest time.
Jack

 

[4 the Birds]

To each his own. We also have hound heaters in our outside dog houses. Lets face it... The dogs and chickens will live in 0 degree temps but they will use less energy and be happier and healthier with a little warmth. Our hens enjoy sitting down around the heat lamp during temps below 10F. The light is away from their roosting bars and no their natural cycles are not all screwed up. ::sigh:: We need elec to the coop to heat the water containers (to keep them from freezing) and a lamp adds some warmth. We get the same egg production during the Winter as we do during the Summer months (a few dozen eggs each day). Pay a little extra for some warmth or just do without. Your choice.

I don't have any lights on in my coop, and never will. Whatever light the sun provides is what they get, and I get eggs year round. They definently don't need a flood light on them 24/7.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Quote: Try to imagine sleeping in your bedroom with that light on for a week; Then you may have the information necessary to make an intelligent decision. Jack E and I are cut from the same cloth; Each to their own however!

 

[4 the Birds]

Try to imagine sleeping in your bedroom with that light on for a week; Then you may have the information necessary to make an intelligent decision. Jack E and I are cut from the same cloth; Each to their own however!

My coup is essentially 3 coups connected together. Each is about a 5'x6' room with an opening to the next. Each room has a roosting bar and 2 rooms have nesting boxes. I placed a heat lamp below a poop board in one room and another at the far end in the other room. The girls have their choice to roost in a semi-lit room or a room without a light. Guess where they roost during the cold nights? I'm sure that you guessed wrong. They prefer the warmer semi-lit room over the darkened room. I have also checked up on them at night and I have witnessed that some of the hens like to sleep down in the pine chips around the heat lamp. They have the choice of a lit area or a very dark area. They can choose where to roost whether it is up on the roosting bars in the dark and down in the pine chips near a heat lamp.

We run a dog rescue and we have a heated building with dog pens inside with runs to the outside. Most pens are compartmentalized so that there are two areas to sleep. One are has a brooder heat lamp and a divider wall allows for a darker and cooler area. Guess where the dogs love to sleep? Right under the heat lamp! The rooms stay around 60 deg F on cold nights but most dogs love to lay in the area around the heat lamps. We also have outside dog houses with 2 compartments and a hound heater in one side.

I am not knocking anyone that does not have my set-up. I am just posting my personal experience and not regurgitating stuff that I read and thus thought to be the sacred cloth of truth. Others can make their own intelligent decisions

 

[CusterChknLover]

well personally, I suggest a light, especially at night when it is below 15*F As I learned the hard way, the first freeze we had here I lost one of my girls, she froze sooo I went out that day and bought a brooder lamp, is on a timer it goes on at night and off in the day, I also have a shelfed off area where they COULD go where it is dark, but guess what every night i go peak, and they are ALL under the lamp!! My egg production also increased! thats just a bonus, because I try to let nature take its course but frozen chicken is NOT what I am aiming for! But as otherwise mentioned "to each their own"! Happy Chicken farmin ALL!!

 

[4 the Birds]

well personally, I suggest a light, especially at night when it is below 15*F As I learned the hard way, the first freeze we had here I lost one of my girls, she froze sooo I went out that day and bought a brooder lamp, is on a timer it goes on at night and off in the day, I also have a shelfed off area where they COULD go where it is dark, but guess what every night i go peak, and they are ALL under the lamp!! My egg production also increased! thats just a bonus, because I try to let nature take its course but frozen chicken is NOT what I am aiming for! But as otherwise mentioned "to each their own"! Happy Chicken farmin ALL!!

Thanks for the testimony! Sorry for the loss. We also lost one this Winter. The strong can endure the cold but the weak and oldhens appreciate the extra love and attention.

 

[Going Quackers]

I wouldn't see any need to have one on during the day? My chickens have no light other than what the sky brings lol I haven't found any need for a heat lamp either, i've been very impressed with how my girls have fared and we do have cold, i'm in Canada.

 

[Hokum Coco]

I am just posting my personal experience and not regurgitating stuff that I read

I have been raising chickens for decades and chicken die in all seasons. Healthy "COLD HEARTY" chickens can survive Arctic Conditions when acclimatized to them. Cold is never the ruling factor when chickens parish in winter months.

If you had been in tune with your flock you should have been able to forecast your birds weakened state (this comes with experience I might add). If you adjust your coop to accommodate the weakest bird you are threatening the overall health of your entire flock.

What happens to your molly colluded flock should extreme weather hit and you are without hydro for a week say? To supply that artificial environment to you flock is putting all your birds in jeopardy.

People have to learn the hard way because some times you can not tell a Heinz Pickle Nothing. This is experience talking here and experience comes through bad judgment. If you are willing to use bad judgment in my honest opinion. Be ready to bare the consequences..

I personally would rather loose one weakened bird then loose my whole flock.
Here is my thread that may give you more insight.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/738994/chickens-arctic-conditions-prolonged-period