Heat lamp or light??

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

I can plug in one thing to my coop. I had been using it to run one light to keep light on for 12 hours. But, it has gotten really cold here and my roo's comb is turning black. I have a heat lamp, but if I don't put it on the timer will the 24 hour light bother them??

I am confused about this one. DO I leave the lamp on all night when it is coldest??

 

[Portia]

Good question. My chickens have been out and about foraging and running around in the 10 degree temps the last couple mornings, however I do have a heat lamp with a red light on in my coop b/c I have a hen with 3 week old chicks in there. The light stays on 24/7 until they get a little older, but it doesn't seem to be causing any ill effects. I had read that red heat lights don't really effect circadian rhythms like white lights do. Still, the laying of my hens has only slowed marginally with the shorter daylight hours.
Don't know if that answers your question, just thought I'd share my experiences

 

[patandchickens]

Have you considered using the heatlamp as a day-extending light, having it come on at 3 a.m. (which is when you most need the heating) and go off at 8 pm, so they *do* get *some* nighttime darkness?

It might be worth a try one night, with a max-min thermometer in there to see how far the coop temperature dips during the light-off period.

Also have you tried building some sort of hover/canopy type thing over/around the roost to better retain their body heat at night.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

Thanks for the replies! The 3 AM to 8pm sounds good at least that way they do get a heated area in which to regroup so to speak to handle the cold hours of darkness. I'll adjust the timer today!

Thank you again!

 

[wromito]

There are also ceramic heat lamps that screw into a regular light bulb socket (the ceramic tyoe should be used with any type of heat lamp.) Ceramic heat lamps emit no light at all, just heat. Do a search on Google and you'll find many sources for them.

 

[D&D Mc Chicken]

I think, depending on your chickens, they are pretty hardy but the black comb is not too good. I am wondering why you could not get a plug with 2 outlets, or even a screw in, that allows a bulb and another plug and use a small ceramic heater.

I live in South Carolina, granted it don’t get real cold here for long periods, but I just try to better insulate the coop. I have never needed a heater but do cover with Plexiglas the windows that in the summer just have 1/2 inch wire. PA bay be a little cold for these tactics though.

 

[blueskylen]

i have been using a red bulb heat light for a month or so now, since my timer failed ( $8.00 and only lasted about a month -pathetic!) i havent noticed a drop in egg production, and if I go in later at night, they are all roosting and snoozing as usual- unlike when I had the white light on.
I do turn it off, if the temp gets up to 40 or so, then back on at night.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

When beloved DH woke up this afternoon (midnight shift) I told him of my worries for the poor roo and his comb. He gave me the look that those long suffering spouses of the chicken addicted do when they know they are defeated.

He heaved a huge sigh and said, "You want the heat lamp AND the white light don't you?" I batted my eyes at him and he melted like a frozen water dish under a heat lamp!

The coop is now outfitted with a white light on a timer for 12 hours and heat lamp on all of the time!


(These are HIS chickens you know. I had nothing to do with it!

_

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Can you get a porcelain or ceramic heat bulb? I'm pretty sure I saw them at a co-op I use to frequent. They're white, and they produce just heat and no light. If you can get two fixtures up and running, you can have light and then heat as well lol.

 

[pbjmaker]

My hubby was thinking he would hook up some kind of heating system for the chickens as my christmas present...

He worries about them more than I do but won't admit it

I like the idea of a white light on timer and a red heat lamp at night.

I would like to get my girls laying eggs.