Light 24 hours a day

[donkee1]

Is it ok for my chickens to have light 24 hours a day --- I have been keeping their light on to add warmth to the coop??

 

[DPC poultry]

i have the same question for my quail

 

[kla37]

I think they should have red light at night so they can sleep well. Wouldn't want to start a bunch of feather picking.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Welcome to BYC!

I believe that chickens need the dark for sleeping and that constant light would be stressful. You might not need the light for warmth. People in AK are posting extremely low temps without an added heat source and their birds are fine.

 

[Ema]

that much light is really bad for chickens to be honest with you. It messes up their internal clocks and could lead to laying issues and health problems. think of it this way could you sleep if your lights were on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year? more than likely you might get a bit of rest due to being real tired but eventually you would suffer the consequences of not being properly rested.

Some people provide anywhere from 12 to 16 hours of light on a timer and then darkness so the chickens can rest accordingly but usually this is only during the wintering months. You will get a lot of different responses over lighting a coop from different BYC members, Opinions vary quite a bit. But in all Chickens do require a certain amount of light, now it all depends on how, when and for how long you want to provide this for them, naturally or artificially. I did a lot of research about lighting and in the end I came up with my own answer from what most experienced people did. 14 hours or either natural or artificial and then darkness.

I have a light in the barn because its quite dark and with all the snow we have gotten, and will still get the run is tarped so they have a light on a timer which goes on at 530 am and off at 7pm. during spring, summer and fall, I do not provide light because the days are longer and they get plenty of natural daylight.

I hope this helps,

Ema

by the way,

and about heating, my chickens are in the barn which is not insulated and its been in the mid neg. teens F here in northern ontario. If fully feathered they should be just fine

 

[donkee1]

I have noticed a few feathers missing on a couple of them -- their coop is in a well insulated horse barn - but I just worry that they will get cold at night(this is the first winter I have had chickens) -- I'm always cold so I think my critters are- my horses have blankets on --- maybe I will try setting the timer on the lights to go off at 10:00 and come on at 5:00 for sleeping time -- any thoughts???

 

[Ema]

Quote:
to get a better idea of your temps, where are you located (state, or province?) I personally wouldn't provide any more than 14 hours.

my chickens lay 21/21 every day, no issues with pecking or feather loss and they are super healthy and happy

 

[donkee1]

How do you prevent your water and eggs from freezing?

 

[Imp]

I was told when I first got chickens, by an old chicken farmer, that the best option was light 24 hours a day. I have had a 60 watt bulb ever since. I have never had any issues with sleeping, nesting/laying, illness, or behavior.
I'm not advocating that a light is better than not, but speaking from about 7 years actual experience it is not a disaster in the making. It is your choice. Since it has been a positive experience for me, I have no plans on changing.
Also heating can be an option. You need to watch your chickens to see if they are suffering negative effects from extreme cold. Everyone's situation is different. Different chickens, humidity, coops, ventilation, temps, etc.
Generally if chickens are kept dry and in a draft free environment they can handle cold temps.

Imp

 

[donkee1]

I live in Vermont --- the coldest so far is around 4 above F and the barn usually stays about 20 to 25 above F on those nights. Usually is about 30-35 on the warmer nights.