Is it ok to leave a light on all night in the coop, or ...

[susanah]

does it disrupt the chickens sleep cycle? Thanks

 

[Omran]

Quote:
You really don't need a light chickens need thier rest as much as any human needs it.

 

[LaSombra]

I used to leave the light on for a while after they didn't really need it because I thought they'd be spooked from the dark. They hadn't been in the darkness before, really.

Then, one day I was late getting in there to close them up. It was still dusk, not dark, but it was darker in the coop and they'd all gone up to their roosts themselves, put themselves to bed. After that, I haven't turned the light on since and they're fine. They put themselves to bed every day now. I just have to check food/water levels and close the doors/windows for the night and go

I do usually visit for a few minutes, though. They're so cute up there cooing and trilling at night

I can't resist petting my favorites

 

[mmwb]

In the past, I've tended to put a light on a timer during the winter. I'd gotten the idea in my readings that egg production will slacken with shorter days, so left a light on until 10:00 pm or so to mimic daylight. I really don't know if it made a difference or not, but laying rates did not decrease through the winter.

 

[Intheswamp]

You might want to set the timer to turn on early in the morning rather than stay on later at night. It seems that the sudden "darkness" when the light turns off may startle the chickens and that they may have trouble getting to the roosts in the dark. Whereas, if the darkness comes on naturally they will go to the roost and settle in. The sudden light in the morning just gets them going earlier.

Egg production can decrease along with the shortening of days. Artificial light is used in commercial houses to continue the level of egg laying during the shorter days but it upsets the natural cycle of the chickens life....the molting process and resting process seems to promote more of a "well being" in the chickens over the long run.

Ed

 

[susanah]

Thank you all!

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Okay, i guess i'm the only one who leaves a light on all night. i do it mainly for predator protection. All my coops are close to the back patio. i have patio lights i leave on at night, and xmas string lights inside some of the pens. Solar string lights on the outer pens, as they get the afternoon sun and work there. The coops inside the pens get closed up, but some light sneaks in. i haven't found my chickens having a problem recognizing when sunrise and sunset come. They go in and sleep at night then wake up at daybreak.

 

[Mahonri]

In my coop, Light goes on at 6AM and off at 8PM, year round.

 

[emvickrey]

Quote:
We used to leave a florescent light on at night so they could eat the bugs that flew to it and go to sleep when they wanted. But they tired of it and ignored the bugs. Now we only leave a light on in the winter. The coop gets closed up in winter to help them keep warm and not much ight gets in. This summer we added a covered run so we will use a timer this winter. They won't be stuck inside all winter.

 

[cmom]

I have a low watt red night light on for my birds. It might not make any differance to them but it does to me. One night it burnt out and when I went out in the pre-dawn to check on them they were all on the floor of the coop, so I promptly replaced the bulb. I went out the next early morning and they were all in their places on their roosts. I don't know if the light had anything to do with it or not but it made me feel better.