Is there a downside to putting a light in the coop for the winter months?

[ll]

If you do, be sure it's in the morning! Don't add the light to the end of the day.

 

[AKchicken1]

You suggest you have no issues with those raising birds for higher production but then chose words that clearly state you firmly believe your way is superior. I truly am fine with anyone that raises birds humanely. We raise enough birds to provide our family with high quality, healthy eggs and pay for their keep. Here that includes heat. So, I provide daylight 16 hours a day October to April. Not for profit, which by the way is not evil, but to barely break even. Feeding and heating my hens all winter without their producing any eggs is a nonstarter. I have to earn my keep and so do my birds.

No, I think my comments have been taken the wrong way...


It's totally your prerogative to light or not.  I just listed the pros and cons in response to the TS as I understand them, and provided the reasoning or info behind the ones that others questioned me on.


I don't have an issue with people who are in it for the highest productivity they can get if they are making it a thing about profit... But I am not interested in participating in that kind of food production.  I am totally not in it for profit... I am in it for a more respectful or more natural relationship with the sources of my food.  I don't shop at Walmart (and haven't for 18 years) for the same reason... I am not interested in the raping and exploiting of resources and animals for the least amount of money possible.


I have 7 hens for just me and my husband... I keep them healthy, safe and go out of my way to provide a significantly higher quality of life and a more natural cycle for the animals that are providing me with food than is offered to the animals that provide grocer shelf stocks.  


I use their eggs in bread making, I use eggs in noodle making, I use eggs as eggs... I use eggs for making pigment binders for paint in my art making... I use their droppings for enriching my compost, which provides me a rich fertilizer for growing vegetables in during the summer....  I give away or sell my excess eggs to neighbors and co-workers when I have them... The modest amount of money I get from selling eggs offsets the cost of buying meat from the local organic farmers I buy meat from.  (KC Buffalo Co./ Benedict Builders Family Farm/ Heartland Longhorn Beef).  3-4 dozen eggs = 1 whole organic free range chicken, or 1 2# arm roast, or 2# of ground beef or pork, etc.  7 hens should provide plenty of eggs for 2 people for up to 5 years... at which point... I will begin renewing the flock, and harvesting the older birds for their meat.


For me, it's about understanding and respecting the actual value and natural availability of food.  That's all.



p.s.  So you sell hens after 2 years to people who want layers after you've burned through their most productive seasons, and then ask me why I would want to pay for food for less eggs?  Huh... that's interesting.

 

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

No, I think my comments have been taken the wrong way...

It's totally your prerogative to light or not. I just listed the pros and cons in response to the TS as I understand them, and provided the reasoning or info behind the ones that others questioned me on.

You say this: I don't have an issue with people who are in it for the highest productivity they can get if they are making it a thing about profit... But I am not interested in participating in that kind of food production. I am totally not in it for profit... I am in it for a more respectful or more natural relationship with the sources of my food. I don't shop at Walmart (and haven't for 18 years) for the same reason... But then you hit us with this: I am not interested in the raping and exploiting of resources and animals for the least amount of money possible.
I have 7 hens for just me and my husband... I keep them healthy, safe and go out of my way to provide a significantly higher quality of life and a more natural cycle for the animals that are providing me with food than is offered to the animals that provide grocer shelf stocks.

I use their eggs in bread making, I use eggs in noodle making, I use eggs as eggs... I use eggs for making pigment binders for paint in my art making... I use their droppings for enriching my compost, which provides me a rich fertilizer for growing vegetables in during the summer.... I give away or sell my excess eggs to neighbors and co-workers when I have them... The modest amount of money I get from selling eggs offsets the cost of buying meat from the local organic farmers I buy meat from. (KC Buffalo Co./ Benedict Builders Family Farm/ Heartland Longhorn Beef). 3-4 dozen eggs = 1 whole organic free range chicken, or 1 2# arm roast, or 2# of ground beef or pork, etc. 7 hens should provide plenty of eggs for 2 people for up to 5 years... at which point... I will begin renewing the flock, and harvesting the older birds for their meat.

For me, it's about understanding and respecting the actual value and natural availability of food. That's all.


Then you go for this: p.s. So you sell hens after 2 years to people who want layers after you've burned through their most productive seasons, and then ask me why I would want to pay for food for less eggs? Huh... that's interesting.

For someone who sounds like she wants to take the high road and be respectful of all, calling us rapists is probably not the way to go. And then implying that those of us who sell two-year-old hens are cheating people--that's beyond rude.

If I tell people the hatch date of the birds (and I do) then I am not cheating anyone. If someone else would like to keep those hens, and lots of people like you do, then there is no cheating. In fact, a two year old hen is a deal if you just want a backyard bird. I sell mine for around $5 each, but I spend $13-$15/bird depending on breed buying, brooding, and raising the chicks to 18 weeks old, and that figure doesn't include any of the feed from 18 weeks to 2+ years. The person buying a two year old bird doesn't have that investment. The hen will lay eggs right away, and although she will lay fewer eggs, the person buying her doesn't have the investment in her that I do. You get what you pay for. I sell started pullets, too. I'll sell you an 18 week old bird for $18, but lots of people don't want to spend extra on a young bird and then not have her lay right away, even though they might get more eggs out of her in the long run. My conscience is completely and totally clear.

I understand your passion for "natural" food, and that's your right. But starting out a post about how you respect everyone's different opinions and then calling us rapists and expoiters and sneeringly trying to call us out on selling two year old birds is not the way to go about it.

 

[Tacampbell1973]

I have kept a brooder (red) heat lamp on inmy coop since my birds were tiny. At first it wasfor the heat but as summer drew to a close, I left it on. The reasons are because for one, if a predator does make it through both doors into the coop, I want my birds to have a fighting chance instead of just sitting in the dark getting attacked by an unseen predator,. Also the light will deter a lot of the predators from even entering the coop to begin with. Also I know for a fact that the birds do get off their perch in the morning before I get out there at 8 to feed breakfast and I want them to be able to see to get to the waterer....The broody light allows them enough light to sleep without a bright light as well as puts off a warmth. I read another post from a member who said that the birds would be less acclimated should the power suddenly go out. I respect their opinion very much, however for myself, our power has never been out for more than four hours since I have lived here, and if it did, I would bring my birds in to my house before I left them to freeze, they are more pets than livestock (just don't tell my husband). I would be more worried about thier extremities freezing before their core heat got lowered. The only down side to the light is that my three boys start crowing at about 3:15 every morning without fail, but I love them and am glad to hear their cheery crows as i live in a rural area...

An addendum to my post: as iread this to my husband, he maintains that the red light would not probably stop a predator. To that I still maintain that my birds would still see whatever was attacking them in the night and if the roosters could not dispatch it, it would set up enough noise that I sleep 50 feet from the coop with a semiautomatic weapon and would get out there to intervene...i Hope.

 

[Gifa]

You suggest you have no issues with those raising birds for higher production but then chose words that clearly state you firmly believe your way is superior. I truly am fine with anyone that raises birds humanely. We raise enough birds to provide our family with high quality, healthy eggs and pay for their keep. Here that includes heat. So, I provide daylight 16 hours a day October to April. Not for profit, which by the way is not evil, but to barely break even. Feeding and heating my hens all winter without their producing any eggs is a nonstarter. I have to earn my keep and so do my birds.

All I was saying was... I don't care what others do... I just don't want be a part of that way... to me, doing it like the big boys do kind of defeats the purpose of doing it myself.

For someone who sounds like she wants to take the high road and be respectful of all, calling us rapists is probably not the way to go. And then implying that those of us who sell two-year-old hens are cheating people--that's beyond rude.

If I tell people the hatch date of the birds (and I do) then I am not cheating anyone. If someone else would like to keep those hens, and lots of people like you do, then there is no cheating. In fact, a two year old hen is a deal if you just want a backyard bird. I sell mine for around $5 each, but I spend $13-$15/bird depending on breed buying, brooding, and raising the chicks to 18 weeks old, and that figure doesn't include any of the feed from 18 weeks to 2+ years. The person buying a two year old bird doesn't have that investment. The hen will lay eggs right away, and although she will lay fewer eggs, the person buying her doesn't have the investment in her that I do. You get what you pay for. I sell started pullets, too. I'll sell you an 18 week old bird for $18, but lots of people don't want to spend extra on a young bird and then not have her lay right away, even though they might get more eggs out of her in the long run. My conscience is completely and totally clear.

I understand your passion for "natural" food, and that's your right. But starting out a post about how you respect everyone's different opinions and then calling us rapists and expoiters and sneeringly trying to call us out on selling two year old birds is not the way to go about it.

Oh for God's sake...

The raping and exploiting comment was a general statement about the Walmart Consumer mentality... The idea that one should always get the most stuff for the least cost, regardless of quality, no matter the cost to the environment or livestock. In regard to chickens and egg production... It might not hurt them to use lights... but it's not natural... and it does wear them out of eggs faster...

In regard to your other comment... I would never want to buy a hen after it was 2 years old if I knew it was lit 14 hours a day for 2 years for the lion's share of their eggs. Do you disclose that they are well past their prime production because they were kept under lights and, as the industry calls it, burned out? Most sellers do not... What would you say the experience level is of the majority of your buyers? Beginners or Pros? And what is their understanding of the production cycle of chickens? Do you ask? Do you help educate them? I only thought it was interesting because you pooped on me about wanting to pay to feed 2+ year old hens... (even though 3 year old hens that were not kept under lights will be more productive than hens that have been under lights). And yet, you have no problem with selling your seconds to people who would be in exactly that situation. I found it ironic.

Now... in regard to my conduct in this thread... My initial post was a neutral pro/con list... every post after that has been a response. If you don't want me standing up for myself... stop poking me with your stick, please. It's that simple.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

All I was saying was... I don't care what others do... I just don't want be a part of that way... to me, doing it like the big boys do kind of defeats the purpose of doing it myself.



Oh for God's sake...

The raping and exploiting comment was a general statement about the Walmart Consumer mentality... The idea that one should always get the most stuff for the least cost, no matter the cost to the environment or livestock. In regard to chickens and egg production... It might not hurt them to use lights... but it's not natural... and it does wear them out of eggs faster...

In regard to your other comment... I would never want to buy a hen after it was 2 years old if I knew it was lit 14 hours a day for 2 years for the lion's share of their eggs. Do you disclose that they are well past their prime production because they were kept under lights and, as the industry calls it, burned out? Most sellers do not... What would you say the experience level is of the majority of your buyers? Beginners or Pros? And what is their understanding of the production cycle of chickens? Do you ask? Do you help educate them? I only thought it was interesting because you pooped on me about wanting to paying to feed 2+ year old hens... (even though 3 year old hens that were not kept under lights will be more productive than hens that have been under lights). And yet, you have no problem with selling your seconds to people who would be in exactly that situation. I found it ironic.

Now... in regard to my conduct in this thread... My initial post was a neutral pro/con list... every post after that has been a response. If you don't want me standing up for myself... stop poking me with your stick, please. It's that simple

You're going to use words like rape and violate and then say I poked YOU with a stick?

I am going to bow out of this conversation before I violate the BYC rules.

 

[Cheryl1948]

Ok, my 15 chickens are 15 wks. old and I have 7 different breeds. All, I believe, are pretty cold hardy.....no Silkies or other breeds that may not be able to withstand cold temps as well. No one is laying eggs yet.

I have read SO MANY different opinions about lighting in the coop. My main goal is not high egg production. It is just enjoying raising healthy, happy chickens and being satisfied with whatever amount of eggs we get. I live in North Carolina and we, of course, do not have the bitter cold temperatures some of you experience. We have, however, recently had some low 20's at night and are due to have more. Since the girls are still quite young, I have been leaving the red bulb heat lamp, which hangs (protected) in the center of the 8 X 16ft. "chicken cabin" (not insulated) on all night when the temps are in the 20's. (not if temps are above freezing) On most nights, because it is above freezing, I have a low watt nightlight that is on all night. Since their night vision is so poor, I just thought that would help out if they had to get around for some reason and it wouldn't be pitch dark.

I read recently on a blog that chickens need 8 hrs. of darkness and ANY lights left on all night (even a low watt nightlight) can cause reproductive problems in chickens (egg binding, peritonitis, etc.) I have yet to see where anyone has written their chickens have had serious health problems from a little nightlight or an occasional red bulb heat lamp, so would anyone agree I am ok with what I am doing? Or, am I truly causing future big problems? If we don't get sub-zero temps, am I silly to have the heat lamp on all night? Just love my girls and want the best for them.

Thanks Chicken loving Friends

 

[Gifa]

You're going to use words like rape and violate and then say I poked YOU with a stick?

I am going to bow out of this conversation before I violate the BYC rules.

*sigh*

I actually used the words "rape" and "exploit"... as in "raping" and "exploiting" the earth of it's natural resources... as in... to plunder... to pillage... It is an appropriate use of those words... And if you read that paragraph, I said I don't care if people want to light their birds for maximum production to maximize profits... next sentence... I am not interested in that kind of food production. Next sentence... I am totally not in it for profit... Next sentence... I am in it for a more respectful or more natural relationship with the sources of my food. New statement... I don't shop at Walmart... next sentence because I am not for the rape and exploitation of resources.

I don't know what else I can say to convince you that I meant no harm or personal offense by my choice of words... you seem to want to be offended.

 

[StacyAK]

 

[Cheryl1948]

Oh StacyAK, tooooo funny! Wish everyone would stop "pecking" at each other and help me with my question. We are all in this together and only want good information.