light in the coop

[eick61161]

hi everyone! i'm completely new to chickens. i finished my tractor 2 weeks ago and got 3 one year old black cochins the sunday before last. they have adjusted to their new surroundings and i have 7 eggs to show for it! my wife calculates that thats about $ 50 per egg, but it's alot less, but that's ok i'll let her think she's right.
i had a problem getting them to get into the tractor at night, i'm guessing because it was darker in the tractor than outside. so i installed one of those little solar yard lights that light up walk ways, and they have gone in every night since. now i'm wondering if the little light that it gives off all night is keeping them up or is going to stress them out. any help on this? thanx!

 

[MontanaMomma]

Your chickens should be going into the tractor by themselves when they feel it is proper to go to bed, regardless of the light differences. Do you keep it open all the time so they can come and go as they please? Does the tractor have a good roost for them? When you got your ladies, did you lock them in the tractor for a few days so they would bond with their new home?
I put a regular light in my coop one winter and left it on for heat 24/7. My hens got aggressive towards each other. As soon as I switched to a red heat lamp, the behavior stopped. So keep an eye out if you are leaving the lights on all night. It will mess with their cycles.
I stopped trying to break even a long time ago- unless you have a chicken factory, this is just for fun and a few fresh eggs.

 

[eick61161]

Quote:
i do leave it open until i come home from work around 8:30pm. i need to make sure they are up in the tractor though, to keep them from getting caught by raccoons. it does have a good roost they are usually on it when i come home to close it up. and they were kept in it for the first three days then i let opened it up and let them out. as for breaking even, that my wife's way of saying my hobbies are too expensive!

 

[MontanaMomma]

If the light is only lighting up the walkway, sounds like your "hobbies" will be fine

and you've solved your problem! Do your chickens have a lot of open space outside of the coop? Maybe they just lose track of time and need a light left on for them at home.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Yes, this is not that uncommon a problem (chickens have DREADFUL night vision and are often unwilling to walk into somewhere pitch-dark), and your solar yard light solution is a common solution to it. (An alternative solution to consider is to add a *large* window to the N side of the coop, and make sure the coop is painted light-colored inside, so it is not all that much darker than outdoors)

I'd say if the solar light setup is working for you, stick with what's working!

As far as how long the light stays on -- IME (admittedly with somewhat older-model yard lights) they don't really hold their brightness for more than a few hours. Have you ever gone out there at, say, 11 or midnight to *see* whether it's still on? If it is -- maybe htey make 'em better these days -- then a really easy fix is to experiment with taping aluminum foil over part of the solar collector part of the thing. The less sunlight it recieves, the less well the battery charges up and the sooner it poops out every night. You will have to fiddle a little to get it the way you want, and then adjust once or twice as the seasons change, but it is simple and does the job

Good luck, have fun,

Pat