Can't see their roost when I turn off their heat lamp at 6 weeks

[chezpoulet]

Hi folks

My 6 week olds have been roosting (a towel rack about three inches off the floor) quite happily in their brooder since they were little ones, and the past few days I have been turning off the heat during the day, and left the heat lamp on at night. Today they were outside in the yard in 39 degree weather happily scratching away. So I decided to turn off the heat lamp tonight to see what happens.

Now the brooder is in the garage, and without the heat lamp it is pitch dark. During the day I had always kept the heat lamp on and a flourescent light on to simulate day time, and would turn off the flourescent light at night, but they could still see with the red light. I have strung up a string of Xmas lights so it is NOT totally dark, but boy you should hear the squaking that ensued once the lights were off (except the Xmas light). This went on for a good 25 mins, and I didn't know whether to laugh or to give in.

When I checked in on them just now, they were haphazardly piled up, 2 were actually on the roost, but the other three were laying against the roost. The temps have not been fluctuating much from daytime temps so I am pretty sure they are not cold, but how do I get them to transition from having their red night light to a coop with no lights in a week or two ?

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[jomoncon]

I put a night light in my coop. It's enough light for them to see where the roost is. Plus, it's enough for me to check on them without turning on the overhead light.

It has a photo cell that turns on in the dark, so I leave it on all the time.

 

[chezpoulet]

Hmmm.. I was hoping to not have to run electricity or an extension cord- perhaps a battery operated LED light ? However, if they can see the roost, would that not be providing them with light 24/day, which is probably not the best for their health?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Usually what happens is - when they realize that they cannot see their roosts at night, they head for the coop earlier. I provide light bulbs (100 watts) to all chicks under 2 months of age in winter (more wattage for the younger chicks of course).

I don't know what other folks do. I just figure they don't have the meat on their bones to stay warm at night until a couple months old.