Brooder light ?

[reksat]

Is it alright to turn the light off in the brooder for a certain amount of time each day to get them ready for the dark? I read this in a raising chicken book that this would be ok .My chicks are approx. 3 weeks old. Just curious.

 

[Emmalion]

Try replacing it with a ceramic heating element. They don't give off light so you can keep a lamp on in the room for as long as you wish and then turn it off at night. Maybe just keep a night light on in the room to let them get used to the change before full darkness.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

If it's hot enough during the afternoon, sure go ahead. This time of year if the chicks are mostly feathered I'll turn the light off in the afternoons because it's in the mid-eighties anyway (or nineties!) here in Florida anyway. At night I'll turn it back on until they are fully feathered then I just leave it off altogether until they go into the grow-out pen. It's all a matter of whether they are warm enough.