LED lights for chicken coop?

[Agathe]

I'm in Northern Norway and during winter we have no sunshine, so I thought it was a good idea to put some light in the coop during the day. However, a friend of mine said that you can't use LED lights with chickens because to them it appears like disco lights. In Norway they have banned the regular light bulbs so all I can find is LED lights apart form old bulbs I might have sitting around in various lamps in the house. Is what she's saying correct? I'm wondering what might be the best option for them, both in terms of heat and light. I'm reading on here that you're not doing them a favour by adding heat to the coop. I live in a fairly mild climate and it rarely goes much below freezing, most of the winter it will be above freezing. My original plan was to have both a heat lamp and a light, but I'm finding that the coop isn't really constructed in the best way to make that work. So now I'm wondering if I can have just a light on during the day, no heat, and if so, what kind of light bulb might work?

 

[rosemarythyme]

You absolutely do not need heat in your temperature range, so skip the heat lamp.

I don't know if LEDs "flash" to a chicken or not.

 

[saysfaa]

Agreed. Chickens do not need heat for climates like your so even quite a lot colder. They do need enough ventilation to carry moisture away. Chickens generate a lot of moisture through their breath and droppings.

I am interested in any negative effects of LED lights because I have a few LED lamps that I want to put in my coop. I found several sources on LED lights for chickens; this does not come up in any of them. The confusion may have come from research on flouresent lights; some studies discuss the possibility that an increase in some undesirable behaviors is because of the flicker of fluorescent bulbs. https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/coops/whats-the-best-chicken-coop-light/

Another of the better sources https://www.poultryworld.net/Broilers/Housing/2011/10/Shine-a-little-light-WP009461W/ says. "Thus, LED is proving to be a viable lighting technology for broiler production." This one was mainly concerned with costs but they did measure growth rates. If there was much negative impact, like a disco effect, it should show up in growth rates in studies like this.

 

[Agathe]

Agreed. Chickens do not need heat for climates like your so even quite a lot colder. They do need enough ventilation to carry moisture away. Chickens generate a lot of moisture through their breath and droppings.

I am interested in any negative effects of LED lights because I have a few LED lamps that I want to put in my coop. I found several sources on LED lights for chickens; this does not come up in any of them. The confusion may have come from research on flouresent lights; some studies discuss the possibility that an increase in some undesirable behaviors is because of the flicker of fluorescent bulbs. https://backyardpoultry.iamcountryside.com/coops/whats-the-best-chicken-coop-light/

Another of the better sources https://www.poultryworld.net/Broilers/Housing/2011/10/Shine-a-little-light-WP009461W/ says. "Thus, LED is proving to be a viable lighting technology for broiler production." This one was mainly concerned with costs but they did measure growth rates. If there was much negative impact, like a disco effect, it should show up in growth rates in studies like this.

Thank you for the thorough answer! I guess one could assume that if the LED lights were bothering the chickens that it would impact them, so I'm concluding that I can safely go on to use LED lights in the coop. I can always get a hold of old fashioned bulbs from friends and family, but they would run out sooner or later anyway.

 

[Agathe]

You absolutely do not need heat in your temperature range, so skip the heat lamp.

I don't know if LEDs "flash" to a chicken or not.

That is great to have confirmed! I'll stick with just lighting then.

 

[suburbanfarmermi]

..................................However, a friend of mine said that you can't use LED lights with chickens because to them it appears like disco lights.......................

So what if the LED lights do appear like disco lights to chickens.... Is that a bad thing? Maybe they would happier if they had disco lights