light on all night....bad???

[chookchick]

-4 degrees is pretty cold. I would be worried about them too. If there is no way you can get a red bulb, try to hang the light so that it is under the poop board, or shielded from their eyes somehow at night. I have noticed that not getting a decent sleep makes me more susceptible to cold, it could be that way for other animals also. Also do whatever you can to insulate the coop, with straw bales, bags of leaves, etc..if you do not have insulation. Do you have a thermometer in there? If you can get an idea of what the temp. actually is in there, it might make you feel better (or not?). I finally caved and got a 75 watt black light to keep the water from freezing, when our temps got down to 8 degrees. A bug bulb is not what you want--get either a red bulb, ceramic heat bulb, or black reptile light. BTW wind chill is not a factor when they are closed up in the coop. Unless you have an EXTREMELY drafty coop!

 

[lizrndiver]

Thanks everyone. I think I will leave it on tonight and then get a red bulb tomorrow (I assume the hardware will be open then). Once the temps are back above single digits, I'll go back to just some daytime supplementation.

Liz

 

[redstars]

The guy at my grain store told me on cold nights to give them a hand-full of cracked corn before they go to
roost. He said it is a "hot food" and will help them generate heat to stay warm.