Coop lighting - yes or no???

[jennyppi]

My chickens are about 9 weeks old. They have just started going inside the coop at night by themselves (huge advancement because I was having to go place them inside it every night). They will not roost unless I shine my cell phone flash light inside! So, my husband added solar LED lights inside the coop. Is this normal? We live in the country so there are no lights around the coop at all.

 

[Monkeybean415]

Are you keeping the lights on all night? They should have some time in the dark. We only use lighting in our coop during the winter when we don't have as much sun light but turn it off from about 9pm-9am

 

[Monkeybean415]

Once they're roosting do they get back down without the light?

 

[jennyppi]

I'm not sure what they do. I haven't gone back out to look. They just seem to not be able to see so they are scared to move around.

 

[Monkeybean415]

If would wanted to give them some light so they can see and get up on the roost I don't see why that would be an issue. I just wouldn't leave the lights on all night. I would think once they're up they'd stay up even after the lights go out.

 

[song of joy]

It's not unusual for chicks to want some light in the coop as an enticement to go in when it begins to get dark in the evening. (Without the light, it's lighter outside than inside in the coop!) Leave the light on dim in the evening until they're up on the roost bars, and then turn it off. Continue this for a week or two until they're in the habit of going up on the roost bars every evening when dusk approaches. After that, try turning off the light to see if dusk alone will prompt them to go to roost. You're trying to ingrain two responses 1) where do I roost every night? and 2) when do I go to roost? So, sometimes you have to do the training in phases.

Best of luck to you!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My young ones stay out too late and don't want to go inside, it's just a phase, kids like night lights so do some chicks, especially if there are no adults in the coop, they will grow out of it.

 

[Clousic Chicks]

What would be suggestions for light during the winter months in the Pacific Northwest? Our hens won't start laying for a couple of weeks...we have lights set up in the coop which we will put on a timer. I'm thinking off at sunrise; on at sunset. Any thoughts?

 

[jennyppi]

Thank you so much. That makes a lot of sense. My birds are just getting used to balancing on the tree branches we installed for roosts. They are such creatures of habit! I had to put them in the coop for about 10-12 days because they didn't know to go in there. We installed a string of solar lights, but I can see that it will be too much light eventually. Thanks for your help.

 

[song of joy]

What would be suggestions for light during the winter months in the Pacific Northwest? Our hens won't start laying for a couple of weeks...we have lights set up in the coop which we will put on a timer. I'm thinking off at sunrise; on at sunset. Any thoughts?

If you have pullets (hatched this year), they will start laying in the fall, and they will lay through the winter without any supplemental light. After their "pullet year", they would need supplemental light to lay through the winter. However, I've never provided supplemental light, as they only take a couple of months off to molt and I like to give them that break.