lights for the cold weather

[rockrun]

i have a 60 watt light on each end of our coop which is 4ft long and 2ft deep for a rooster and two hens,should i leave the lights on all the time when its cold.were in central indiana and lately its been getting down to 18 or so at night.

 

[rubyrogue]

Chickens have down coats they are fine without supplemental heat in most cases.... I add lights for egg laying but not for heat. My lights are florescent. Many coop fires start from heat lights, this results in property loss and in some cases life lost. Your chickens should be fine without them. If you are wanting to up egg production add cool light not heat....

 

[bargain]

those lights will not generate heat, so I would say leave them off for a few hours as this helps them to have both a lit and non lit time. 24 hours of light a day would fatigue your chickens.

 

[rockrun]

iv had them on constantly for about two weeks now,i dont think theres enough heat there to start a fire.but should i just turn them off completely or put em on a timer.there not heat lamps just regular 60 watt bulbs.

 

[rubyrogue]

I would put them on a timer....on a few hours before dawn off at dusk or whenever during the day. My lights come on at 4am and go off at 9am.