lighting a hen house not for production???

[Farming Feathers]

Please excuse my lack of skills,but my chicken has been using a street light source for night feeding (these street lights are on property).

I'm trying to wean her off the night feeding by moving her into a newly prepared hen house...in this hen house is an incandescent bulb light 25 watt. and I have a lamp shade over the bulb and have put tape around 25 percent of the visible surface to reduce how much the house is lit at night...

I plan to let her use this light till I can train her into the hen house as her roost full time. Then I can put the lighting on a timer to further reduce and regulate the light time till she is on normal hours.

In this coming spring plan to increase the number of chickens which I hope she will see as company and of course she is the roost leader so pecking order will start with her...

I don't know chickens and seek advise so please be kind to my faults.

 

[lazy gardener]

Chickens don't need to eat at night, nor do they usually need a night light. If the chicks were brooded with a heat lamp, some flock keepers have needed to put a little light in the coop to get the birds to go into the coop at roost time. Does your coop have a couple windows? Those should be sufficient.

 

[jthornton]

When the sun sets and the light starts to get dimmer chickens seek out a place to roost. They don't need a night light. Having said that chickens hate change also. I would watch them between sunset and dusk and see what they do without a light. When I moved my chickens from the brooder to the coop I did it in the evening a bit before sundown so they had to find the roost pretty quick, some did some didn't but by the 3 day they all had it down pat.

JT

 

[jthornton]

I forgot to mention the roost area needs enough natural light so they can see well. I had to replace my tin roof with clear fiberglass over the roost side because it was too dark inside and they didn't want to go in.

JT

 

[Farming Feathers]

Chickens don't need to eat at night, nor do they usually need a night light. If the chicks were brooded with a heat lamp, some flock keepers have needed to put a little light in the coop to get the birds to go into the coop at roost time. Does your coop have a couple windows? Those should be sufficient.

No windows as yet...I converted a tool shed for a hen house...When I add a sliding door will add some ventilation portals low level (near the ground level) below roosting poles.

 

[lazy gardener]

No ventilation yet? Ventilation is key to flock health.

 

[Farming Feathers]

I forgot to mention the roost area needs enough natural light so they can see well. I had to replace my tin roof with clear fiberglass over the roost side because it was too dark inside and they didn't want to go in.

JT

That is why I'm trying to light the coop but not too much as I want to wean her off lights when I have the coop finished with proper suggested ventilation and as much natural lighting as I can provide, but not total dark

 

[Farming Feathers]

No ventilation yet? Ventilation is key to flock health.

I agree LG and that is coming soon, but for now she won't even stay in the coop at night or I would keep the door open till vents can be added.

 

[nminusyplusm]

No windows as yet...I converted a tool shed for a hen house...When I add a sliding door will add some ventilation portals low level (near the ground level) below roosting poles.

Ventilation should be above the roosts, high not low.

 

[jthornton]

That is why I'm trying to light the coop but not too much as I want to wean her off lights when I have the coop finished with proper suggested ventilation and as much natural lighting as I can provide, but not total dark

Total dark is fine once they are on the roost. They do need enough light to see the roost and the light needs to dim slowly over a 30 minute time span to simulate sunset to dusk. I'm sure others with more knowledge will chime in but I think having enough light 24/7 that they can see enough to move around is not good for the chickens...
A quick search found this "Drift Light" which automatically dims, mimicking a sunset. I have not tried one just found it in a search.

JT