Chickadian Rhythms, Artificial Lite Meddling in Circling Cycles

[amiachicknorwat]

As resistant as I can be 1st thing in the actual morning, I'm trying to get up early to let the chicks and hens out. Then secure the coop door shut once they've all gone inside around sunset. Mid day I feel it's right to stay out of the coop while the hens are laying, then steal the eggs before the sun drops behind the mountain.

What gets me is when we got the chicks we were told we needed a heat lamp with a warm red light. We got one in the chicken supply section of our local Farmer's Supply store. Two months on now and I'm still leaving that on all night. Plus we've since bought 9 laying hens. Was there a time when I should have stopped using that light? I know for us humans dark at night is as necessary as real daylight is to our health. Of course as I write this in the dark of night I'm glued to this backlit screen like a ravaged moth. Am I doing my birds an equal disservice?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yes you are, in more ways than one. Usually chicks are fully feathered by the time they are five weeks old. Unless you live in an area where the weather is truly cold, well below freezing, chickens don’t need heat after they are fully feathered. They are more comfortable without it. Heat kills a lot more chickens than cold. I don’t know where you live or what your current nighttime lows are, but it is hugely unlikely they need the heat. I’ve seen adult chickens sleep in trees with the overnight lows below zero Fahrenheit (-18 C). As long as they can get out of a direct wind and have decent ventilation they can handle the cold.

If you go through the Egg Quality Handbook

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/ourbooks/1/egg-quality-handbook/

you will see several egg defects that can be caused by improper lighting. That generally means too much light. Chickens need a dark downtime to unwind. As you said, it is part of their natural cycle. If they don’t get that downtime there can be behavioral problems as well as egg quality problems.

 

[aart]

Got a couple good chuckles at your thread title and screen name, thanks.

Ridgerunner hit the salient points as usual.

There is a 'dark' way to heat chicks if needed (for future reference) it's much safer, calmer and cheaper.
Here's my version: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pseudo-brooder-heater-plate

 

[amiachicknorwat]

Very Much thanks, Ridgerunner. Being a newbie "I was just following orders" (carrying old suggestions of others beyond the pale). The heat lamp I'm sure is a big draw and electricity costs are going up. But the big savings is of health in both hens & chicks, cuz now they're both in the same coop. A good book on this subject for human health I read years ago was Sleep Thieves by Stanley Coren. Entertaining while recounting fascinating research -- a very good read. Bests, Nick

 

[Mrs. K]

Most of us, when we get started, worry about chickens getting too cold.

The truth is that for optimim health, we need to worry about keeping chickens DRY.

They need still air space around them, and they will keep themselves quite warm. Too many times, people are trying to trap the heat in next to the chcikens, and what they are doing is trapping the moisture. Damp chicken are cold chickens, dampness drastically reduces the amount of insulation of the feathers.

Open the coop, so that the moisture can escape, put the roosts away from the wall and ceilings, and below the ventilation, and you will be giving the chickens the best living arrangement.

Mrs K

 

[amiachicknorwat]

Thanks Mrs. K, I do know this well, being from the west coast, but your post makes it easier for me to extrapolate this consideration out to the chickens. I just looked around the coop, inside & out, with fresh eyes from the inputs of y'all posting here. When first moved in the chicken coop was beyond filthy and its construction looked like they never considered it would ever need cleaning, evidenced in how deeply filthy it was. But now I can see the good ways they did consider the chickens in its design. They do get still air while getting ample ventilation and good overhang coverage outside the venting windows. Our roosts are just below the level of most venting windows. Where they're not now I'll be sure to cover them when the cold starts. Nick