Do chickens need dark to lay eggs.

[Mflood]

Hi, we just put a heat lamp in our very drafty 4' x 8' chicken coop. We have 14 chickens that are 18 weeks old. The heat lamp that we put in has a 125 watt bulb, instead of the standard 250 watt. We do not have a timer on it or anything fancy. We are expecting a winter with below zero temps this year again, and since our coop is quite drafty and we are not really sure how to remedy that, we figured that a heat lamp might help our chickens to stay a little bit warmer and keep our water from freezing. The lamp is in and on, but what I am wondering is if the full time light will prevent them from laying?

Should we put in a dimmer switch? Will a dimmer switch affect the heat output? My grandfather raised chickens before my time and my dad says that they need some dark to lay eggs; he also said that my grandpa would put a light on a timer and have it on from midnight to 2 a.m. and then again in the morning and that he got two eggs a day from each chicken. What do you think? It really is quite bright in the coop, is there a way to diffuse the light a bit? I'm just not sure what to do. I know that a lot of you will say that the chickens don't need the heat, but with cracks all around the entrances and windows, I just don't see how they won't be cold. Thanks.

 

[BantamLover21]

Glad you joined us!

Full time light won't necessarily stop hens from laying, but it will stress them out. It would be good if you could at least dim the lights for a few hours each day, just to give them some rest. I'm not sure if dimming the light would affect the heat, though.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

We're glad to have you.

X2 on Bantamlover21.

 

[sunflour]

So glad you joined us. I think that is a great question. Don't' know the answer but really want to hear the responses. All I have ever read or heard was about light supplementation.

But I do know this: I have had my girls under camera surveillance since they were a few days old. When lights are on , they sleep and awaken throughout the nights. When there are no lights, they just sleep. Makes me wonder if lights are on all the time they may not get enough sleep at nite, they may not be as healthy? Like human insomniacs who get inadequate rest.

Chickens are very cold hardy but your coop sounds like it has drafts. Could you consider covering it with something, a tarp or plastic, to reduce the drafts and avoid the light?

 

[drumstick diva]

Maybe if you posted photos of your coop, we could offer suggestions to make it less drafty? Glad you joined the flock.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC!

 

[vehve]

The dimmer switch would lessen the heating effect as well. If you want just heat without light, you could get a ceramic bulb for your lamp. But fixing those drafts would probably be a good idea too, at least around the roosts. You could put up some plywood to keep the wind off of them while they're sleeping.

 

[aart]

24/7 light is not good for chickens.....and either is trying to heat the coop...... for a multitude of reasons, health and safety being first....and it won't keep your water liquid.

Chickens have feathers that are very warm, they will be fine in the cold weather....turn the heat lamp off now so they can get used to the cold and grow adequate feathers.

Back to basics...lots of draft free ventilation and dry bedding.

ETA:Sorry this didn't post before https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/97134/how-cold-is-too-cold-for-a-chicken

Maybe if you posted photos of your coop, we could offer suggestions to make it less drafty? Glad you joined the flock.

Ditto this^^^^^^

 

[Mflood]

But I live in Michigan and they might actually have some snow in their coop....