Lights Inside Coop?

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i am wondering how many folks do lights inside the coop for their chickens at night. i read one member, with a modified chick-n-barn, put in red rope lights. My kids slept with red heat lamps for a large part of their young life while inside and they seemed fine.

i have recently put a small string of colored xmas lights inside the pen so i can see at night if i go in there. But the kids are in their coops with closed doors or drapes over the openings. Does anyone think it is important to have lights of any kind inside the coop for the chickens to see at night? Just wondering if this would keep them up, or be comforting, allowing them to see as they move around inside.

Thanks for any input.

 

[joshchickens]

hey i have christmas lights on the outside of the coop to see where im going. on the inside i have a heat lamp but thats it i dont usually put lights in my coop but since winter is gonna be a cold one i put the heat in there

 

[ozark hen]

It depends on where you live, what kind of chickens you have, and what is your purpose for the lights? chickens don't need a "night light". If there are a lot of birds and they are in a "sound" coop, then no need for heat. For instance...I use the deep litter method and my coop room is snug so there will be no need for a heat lamp unless I see my chickens huddled together for warmth. I have a florencent (sp) light inside that I turn on to do a head count and then I unplug it. Some folks use rope lighting to see by and it is in red so the chickens aren't bothered by the light. Some folks use a reg. light and keep it on for so many hours just to keep their chickens laying longer. So you see it depends on exactly why you want a light in there. If you think your chickens are cold then by all means put a red bulb in so they will receive heat from it. I hope I haven't confused you?

And welcome to BYC Josh

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i understand the need for a heat lamp when it gets cold. Here in Southern California, i may only need that one or two days a year. i'm not considering a light in the coop to make them lay more in the winter months. i suppose i was wondering if the chickens would "like" a light inside their coop. i know chickens have a hard time seeing at night, so wondered if it would make them more comfortable to have a night light in their coops. Also, perhaps a night light would help them see if a predator was trying to get in. i only ponder this after seeing another member who put the red rope lights in their coop. Maybe they did that for warmth.

 

[ozark hen]

If your coop is very secure I wouldn't bother with a "night light" unless it is something you want to do as they do not need it. Try it and see which way you prefer but like I said, it would be for you not for the chickens.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Well, i guess the xmas lights outside in the pen are good enough. They allow me to see around the outside of their coops in case i need to go out there at night. But they are snug and dark inside their coops.

i remember years ago when i had chickens, they never had lights out there. But one nasty winter it went below freezing, so i put a heat lamp out for them. i was so worried so kept going out to check on them. i found them wide eyed, staring at that dang light all night. That can't be very restful!

 

[allen wranch]

I use 7 watt night lights in my coops so I can check on the birds without turning on the regular lights.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Lighting inside chicken coops is typically used during winter or during the months with shorter days to extend daily egg production for hens. It can be done humanely so that it is a positive for the birds and for you (you get more eggs and they get a health environment). So many people don't install lighting properly inside coops....they add artificial light in the evening by "extending daylight" (VERY BAD for birds as they must roost to natural sunset) so you must add any artificial light in the morning....they don't use a gradual increase in light intensity when they turn the lights on (reverse dimming to mimic a sunrise), this SHOCKS the birds when they have to go from solid dark to day and is terrible for their well being...they don't use full spectrum lighting (mimics natural sun rays), they don't update their program each week so they don't follow the sun...so many issues out there with lighting being installed poorly. If you have interest I could provide my lighting guide for backyard coops. I think you would find it interesting and helpful. I have spent 30 years selling commercial lighting systems for broilers and layers and breeders so i know this subject extremely well! thanks

As much as this is a very informative response, sadly the thread is 18 years old.

If you started a new thread with your lighting guide I'm sure it would garner great interest on the discussion not only for myself but I'm sure others new and old here would appreciate it.

 

[wrathsfarm]

OK...I will try that! I am new to this stuff!

Great...Welcome to BYC.