Today I tried switching lightbulbs from a heat lamp to a 100watt bulb. My chicks started acting nervous and though they still ate and drank and scratched around they seemed more on the alert than usual and more tense than usual(more flighty behavior). When I switched back to the heat lamp the difference in their behavior was quite noticeable and they were much calmer. I was wondering if anyone else has had such an experience or knows off-hand if lighting can change a chickens behavior? Do you think it is because they were not used to such lighting, or could it actually be that a heat lamp is a more soothing color for the chickens? Just curious.
That is interesting. It sounds like a PhD or Masters thesis for an ag grad student. The only difference I've noticed is with red light. They quit pecking each other at night.
It should be that a heat light would heat up the area faster. Maybe they were just use to a certain level of heat and changing that freaked them out.