24/7 lighting

[mrdruids]

i know large egg farms do this to increase egg output but it seems kind of rude, is this bad for chickens? can they even get any sleep with the lights on 24/7?

 

[Alethea]

I'm not an expert but think this has got to be bad for the chickens. They lay during the day and sleep at night.

 

[kota1369]

I think 12 hours of light is fine for them. More like summer time.
And I dont think they sleep well.

 

[D'Angelo N Va.]

I don't know how it affects them but I was at a farm over the weekend and the lady had free range chickens. At night they went into the barn and she had heat lamps on 24/7...

 

[Imp]

When I first got chickens, years ago. It was recommended to me that lights 24/7 (or no light) was better than timed lights. I've done lights for years. Never caused a single problem for the chickens. They sleep just fine.
In the past it was posted on BYC that lights in the coop at night might help with predator protection.

Imp

 

[Tracydr]

I think there's a risk of picking and feather plucking, which is why they clip their beaks.

 

[liv4fun]

interesting....

 

[twopeas]

I've wondered how they sleep with the lights on as well. I read somewhere that the lighting needs to be scheduled so I decided to go with natural lighting instead of artificial. I noticed when I had lighting in the coop that there was more pecking on each other going on than there has been since I unplugged the bulb.