Does a red light cause aggression?

[nilifer]

It is like 3 degrees F now as night falls, and will go lower tonight with windchill in the -15 to -20 range. I put on the red light I used when they were chicks. It is a heat lamp. I go in to shut the door to the run and give them some scratch and they‘re all king-fu fighting. Hens with hens, the two roosters fighting each other… What is going on on? Never seen any fighting before. this. Could it be the light? I have turned it off for now.

 

[aart]

Could just be light, not necessarily because it's red.
How long has it been on?
Were they fighting before the light was turned on?

 

[nilifer]

No fighting without the light

 

[nilifer]

I’m going back out there to turn it on. It’s a bit below zero with windchills in -35 to -40. Very unpleasant

 

[FrostRanger]

I'd get a panel heater. Heat lamps are generally a fire hazard but if they're triggering your flock for some reason, I'd absolutely wouldn't use one. As long as they aren't in the wind, I'd leave it off for now and keep an eye on them. What breeds do you have though and do you have any especially large combed birds?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Did the fighting stop when you turned the light off?

 

[AGeese]

It's the light, the heat, and the stratch that's got them amped up. Either they don't know what time it is, or they're annoyed by the light, and high off scratch.

I did this with my first hatchlings and after a time they got annoyed and started jumping at the lamp. That was my que to take it down.

Share a picture of your set up if you don't mind? Sounds like you have a lot of birds. They should be able to regulate their own heat with each other as long as they're out of the wind and rain.

 

[nilifer]

There are 16 birds. I went back out at 9 and turned it on. They are all roosted. I’ll be out there early tomorrow and take a picture. I also today put up a strip curtain over the door between the coop and the run to keep the howling winds out. Maybe too much change at once.

 

[AGeese]

There are 16 birds. I went back out at 9 and turned it on. They are all roosted. I’ll be out there early tomorrow and take a picture. I also today put up a strip curtain over the door between the coop and the run to keep the howling winds out. Maybe too much change at once.

Careful with curtains and lamps, but agreed mine can get a little fussy with changes too.

 

[nilifer]

I think it was the scratch and new strip curtain. Now I’m feeding scratch only in the morning, and one strip of the new curtain is tucked up so the chickens can see thru to the run. Peace has been restored. The heat lamp was on for two nights when it was below zero. No fire, no frostbite.