Night Light or No light?

[aldarita]

BillysFlock, how old are your chickens?
They might still be too young and that is why they are piling together every night. I have 20 - 6 week old chicks that get into a bundle at night. I started picking some of them up and put them in the roosting box, little by little some have been jumping into the roosting box. I think that by now, half of them are doing it, the rest are still sleeping on the floor all together in a pile. I must say that even the ones that get in the roosting box are still in a pile, with the heat in Texas I wish they will separate to have some air flowing around them but I cannot get them to do that yet. Maybe later on they will get the idea.

BTW I do have two night lights in their coop, I have LED bulbs in them because they give less light just enough to be able to see some.
Some time ago when we decided to raise chickens I read in a book or two that it was good to keep a night light in the coop in case there is some commotion outside with noise, the chickens will be able to see and be less scare. I don't know how true this is but I have had a night light in my coop with my older hens ever since they were pullets and were moved into their coop from the brooder.

 

[BillysFlock]

thanks for that info. much appreciated. I split the coop into 2 sections as was my plan to have a storage area and I added a bunch of roosts they are now on the roosts sleeping good. I still may turn the night light back on as we have lots of wildlife around here. and things make noises at night want them to be able to at least see how to get off roosts if they get scared for some reason.

 

[BillysFlock]

forgot to add the chickens are 8 weeks yesterday

 

[rmurrayslcut]

I'm a little late to this thread, but I've just returned home from a vacation that included a visit to a bird farm with many chickens. The proprietor and I were talking, I told him I keep a little 40 watt fluorescent bulb on when it gets dark. He told me to wean them off it because it could hamper egg production.

My flock is 13 weeks old. They huddle near the light and and from what I've read, chickens don't like to go into dark places because that's where predators lie. It seems to make sense to me and I can't imagine too much light would inhibit egg production. Mine aren't laying yet, so I don't have a baseline by which to measure.

But, I would like to know if anyone has had hard experience with night lights inhibiting egg production. The bird farm proprietor seemed to be in the know, but his advice doesn't seem right. Anyone still responding to this thread with some experience in this matter, please weigh in.

 

[aldarita]

A 40 watt light might be a little too much. I use two night lights (6 watts each) in my 8 x 4 coop where my hens roost and nest. They have had those lights ever since they were 4 weeks old and I moved them from the brooder. They are one year and a half now and all laying very well. I also have 20 chicks that are 14 weeks old and have had a night light in their coop since they were 4 weeks old.
I really want them to have just enough light so they can see around in case there is something going on outside their coop and they won't get so scared. 6 watts lights are perfect and it does not affect their laying.Hope this helps

 

[petrel]

A 40 watt light might be a little too much. I use two night lights (6 watts each) in my 8 x 4 coop where my hens roost and nest. They have had those lights ever since they were 4 weeks old and I moved them from the brooder. They are one year and a half now and all laying very well. I also have 20 chicks that are 14 weeks old and have had a night light in their coop since they were 4 weeks old.
I really want them to have just enough light so they can see around in case there is something going on outside their coop and they won't get so scared. 6 watts lights are perfect and it does not affect their laying.Hope this helps

That is good to know.

I'm experiencing a similar issue to that listed in this thread. My chicks are due to be weaned from the heat lamp, especially because it is keeping my Ador from closing. I stepped them from two lamps to one lamp last week. Last night I shut off the remaining lamp.

At roosting time they all gathered on the coop ramp peeping nervously, but they would not enter the dark coop. The sun set and the door closed, as it was supposed to, leaving everyone still peeping nervously on the ramp. I plugged the light back in, opened the door, and they filed in and sorted themselves out.

I'm going to try the small red light tonight and see if that satisfies them, without disrupting the operation of the door. Thanks!

 

[rmurrayslcut]

The best advice I've taken came from two different people. One was that lights make chickens feel safe; they're naturally afraid of dark places because that's where predators lie. So during warm weather, I have a small fluorescent shop light I've attached to the side of the coop. It puts out just enough light so they can see.

The other bit of advice concerned heat lamps. They member said that when he's cold, chances are his chickens are too. It got cold here a couple weeks ago, so I replaced the little fluorescent with a 125 W red bulb in the corner. They don't lie underneath it, but I think they appreciate the heat and the light is comforting too.

 

[donrae]

The best advice I've taken came from two different people. One was that lights make chickens feel safe; they're naturally afraid of dark places because that's where predators lie. So during warm weather, I have a small fluorescent shop light I've attached to the side of the coop. It puts out just enough light so they can see.

The other bit of advice concerned heat lamps. They member said that when he's cold, chances are his chickens are too. It got cold here a couple weeks ago, so I replaced the little fluorescent with a 125 W red bulb in the corner. They don't lie underneath it, but I think they appreciate the heat and the light is comforting too.

I have to respectfully disagree with this comment. Humans don't have fur or feathers, animals do. Chickens are animals and designed to live outside in the elements. They can tolerate cold temperatures quite well, way below where a human would be comfortable without lots of layers of clothing. Wild birds survive freezing temps just fine, and chickens really aren't any different.

 

[DanEP]

After chicks get to be a couple of months old they don't need heat at all, and need to acclimate to cooler weather. If they have always had heat and you get a power failure they may have a rough time of it without it. Chicks will always pile up together at first even when it;s hot out but they outgrow it.
As far as the light goes I have mine on a timer that comes on a dusk but goes off about 30 min later just for that 1 or 2 chicks that that don't want to go to bed yet. To be honest this is because I'm lazy. If it gets dark outside they will go into a lighted coop and I'm not out there catching chickens in the dark. As far as the light all night goes I don't do it< I sleep better in the dark and I think the girls do too and they won't be getting up to eat all night

 

[centrarchid]

After chicks get to be a couple of months old they don't need heat at all, and need to acclimate to cooler weather. If they have always had heat and you get a power failure they may have a rough time of it without it. Chicks will always pile up together at first even when it;s hot out but they outgrow it.
As far as the light goes I have mine on a timer that comes on a dusk but goes off about 30 min later just for that 1 or 2 chicks that that don't want to go to bed yet. To be honest this is because I'm lazy. If it gets dark outside they will go into a lighted coop and I'm not out there catching chickens in the dark. As far as the light all night goes I don't do it< I sleep better in the dark and I think the girls do too and they won't be getting up to eat all night

With respect to heat this is not entirely true. My birds once about 5 weeks old can survive extreme cold without benefits of hen. To get buy they have to eat more, at least twice as much as they would otherwise when it gets really cold. Even then when food is not limiting, growth slows down to a degree I can measure. Even moderately cooler temperatures impact behavior, feed intake and growth if they cannot compensate with respect to other two.

When you look out how intensive chicken producers operate, they keep the birds under much more controlled conditions than we typically do which means a hefty utility bill. They do this to control feed cost and keep growth rates up. Even egg production is impacted by extreme cold. No matter how well my birds are fed when it gets really cold, egg production is greatly reduced. My birds are outside even at night so this enables seeing this pattern. Simply moving birds to a more protected chicken house would improve productivity even without heating. Heating to above freezing would improve performance further.

We must be careful to distinguish the terms survive and thrive.

I do not heat but have done so see benefits although they were outweighed by cost.