Inside the Coop????

[Karen W.]

My babies will be going out soon......... I have a coop I will be locking them up in at night inside an outside chainlink dog kennel. Will I need to have a light inside, not for heat but just light? Also, I keep seeing dusting boxes? Is this something I need for my Silkies? This is all new to me and any help would be appreciated!!!! Thanks in Advance!!!!

 

[HoopyFrood]

Regarding Light: It's your call. I think it's a great idea to have light as a chicken keeper so that IF you need to do something after dark (weather-related, emergency, checking in late, etc) you don't have to use a headlamp/flashlight. But further, chickens won't lay without a certain number of hours of light during the "day" so some people put up lighting in the coop to keep them laying eggs throughout the winter. I don't use supplemental light as I'm happy to let their bodies take a break from egg laying in the winter. Again your call!

For the dust bath: I always make sure my chickens have something to dust bathe in. It's not only good for hygiene, but the chickens love it so much - I like seeing them happy like that! Dust baths are universal to all chicken varieties