Do hens need light on during the night?

[ella]

Hey Boxermom,

It was ridiculously cold this winter! I did have heat, but only enough to keep the waterers inside from freezing overnight, so it was 40-50 minimum. Maybe colder on the floor, but I kept the waterers on the roost to keep the ducks out of it.

My coop is built like a house so it's fully insulated including the floor. I also put flaps of plastic over the doors do cut down on drafts so it didn't take much to keep it comfortable.

They mostly just chill out all winter (no pun, eat, sleep and snuggle together. The boys quit sparring and the girls quit fighting, everybody is really calm. Which is a great thing when they can't get outside everyday.

 

[boxermom]

Thanks ella.

 

[ahclem]

Thanks, again, for all the continued responses. We cut the light back to 16 hrs. total, including daylight. Doesn't seem to have fazed them at all. We were worried that they might "pile on" and so we checked them a few times the first night but they all behaved themselves.

They haven't started laying yet so we can't say if cutting the light like that would have any effect on production.