Hi, I'm Matt and I'm a complete FNG

[StoopidFNG]

After reading through many threads here I am convinctoed that this is the nicest place on the entire interwebs

I just finished building my coop and have now been the proud pappa of chickens for three days.

We have three. An Americauna and a Rhode island red/Brahma cross who should start laying any day now and a Aurcana who just started laying. They are all sweethearts that LOVE people. They are free range at day.

We are in the mountains of Utah and right now the nights are typically in the mid 20s.

My main concern is that they don't sleep at night. Night one I had a white 100 watt bulb on for their warmth and they didn't sleep a wink. Night two they had no light and slept great.. This is night three, i put a red 250 watt bulb in for warmth...and now it's midnight and they are wide awake!

Are chickens happier warm and bright or cold and dark?

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[Lozuufy]

Hi and welcome to BYC! I agree with you, this is the most awesome forum ever!

Chickens are fine without heat as long as they have enough ventilation to prevent moisture from building up which can cause frostbite. It is best to not use heat and just let them acclimate to the cold in my opinion, it gets down to -20 degrees fahrenheit here and my chickens are fine in their unheated coop.

That coop looks great also

 

[N F C]

Your chickens don't need the light at night, they just need their sleep, lol. Those feathers are great little coats and they will snuggle close to one another to keep warm. I like your coop but I was wondering about ventilation...is there some I just can't see because of the camera angle?

Thanks for joining us!

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. I would personally suggest getting rid of the light altogether. As long as your coop is draft free, dry, and well ventilated to prevent moisture from building up inside of it, your birds will be fine. Feathers are a wonderful insulator and moisture is a much greater danger than cold. If you intend to use the supplemental lighting to extend the birds day for laying purposes, you need to have it on a timer. You can set the timer where the light comes on in the morning before sunrise, but you need to make sure that the light goes off before the chickens enter the coop at sunset or you will mess up their laying cycle. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[drumstick diva]

Hi Matt, nice to meet you. Don't be hard on yourself - everyone starts out as newbie. Check out the Learning Center and your chicken IQ will soar. Welcome to Backyard chickens.

 

[Chookepie]

It's ok, chickens are designed to live in a variety of different climates, that why we domesticated them!

You don't need a heat lamp and you can look on the learning centre if you want any more information!

See you

and

 

[trailrider330]

Welcome to the BYC flock! We are glad you joined us!