Darkness

[LeGay]

I'm beginning to wonder if my chickens are scared of the dark. I have 10 hens, a few are the same breed but they're all varied, and since they were chicks we've been keeping them in our garage. They're two months old, and we've constantly kept a light on them. My mother told me the other day that we should start turning off the garage light for them to sleep, cause it might be possible that they believe it's daytime constantly because of the light. Is this true? I'm beginning to think it might be, because I decided to give it a shot. I turned off the light and left them alone, but they didn't last five minutes. I remember reading something on here that said "a quiet chicken is a happy chicken". They were not quiet. They were throwing a fit, and from the other side of the door, it sounded like they were trying to climb on things.
Tonight I decided to give them a nightlight. I watched them as I turned off the light and turned on the night light. They were still frantic; talking loudly to each other and they even started huddling towards the little night light on the wall. Are my chickens afraid of the dark?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Change is stressful to them - but natural day/night cycle is important for them. They will adjust. One issue with a setup like your's where they are in a garage with a light being turned on/off is that it is not a natural dawn and dusk where the light shift is gradual. Are there windows in the garage? If so, it can help to turn off the light well before dark so that as the sun sets outside the light fades in the garage more naturally. Are you planning to move them to the coop soon?

 

[rIrs roost]

I'm beginning to wonder if my chickens are scared of the dark. I have 10 hens, a few are the same breed but they're all varied, and since they were chicks we've been keeping them in our garage. They're two months old, and we've constantly kept a light on them. My mother told me the other day that we should start turning off the garage light for them to sleep, cause it might be possible that they believe it's daytime constantly because of the light. Is this true? I'm beginning to think it might be, because I decided to give it a shot. I turned off the light and left them alone, but they didn't last five minutes. I remember reading something on here that said "a quiet chicken is a happy chicken". They were not quiet. They were throwing a fit, and from the other side of the door, it sounded like they were trying to climb on things.
Tonight I decided to give them a nightlight. I watched them as I turned off the light and turned on the night light. They were still frantic; talking loudly to each other and they even started huddling towards the little night light on the wall. Are my chickens afraid of the dark?

It does take them a few nights to get use to it. Mine always have to start with.

 

[LeGay]

Change is stressful to them - but natural day/night cycle is important for them. They will adjust. One issue with a setup like your's where they are in a garage with a light being turned on/off is that it is not a natural dawn and dusk where the light shift is gradual. Are there windows in the garage? If so, it can help to turn off the light well before dark so that as the sun sets outside the light fades in the garage more naturally. Are you planning to move them to the coop soon?

Yes, hopefully we can get them out there before the end of this month. All we need to fix with the coop is the door and their nesting boxes.

 

[Bird Mimic]

Mine where big sissys (indoors) if I just shut off the light at night.
My fault, think about it; Dose the sun shut off?
So I slowly dimmed the light (dimmer switch) over 1-2 hour period.
Once you get them outside, and let them adjust to daylight,
they'll get over it real quick.