Nightly party in the coop

[Jerseycoop]

Hi everyone...My hubby put a red heat lamp bulb in the coop as our temps her in NJ have dipped into the 20's at night. The last 3 nights we have turned it on at 10pm and we noticed the girls flapping about, pecking the floor and simply staying up until 2 am. Will they get use to the light or did we do something wrong?

HELP! At times they make a ruckus

 

[NonnasBabies]

Quote:
They don't need a heat lamp. And no they won't get use to the light. Best thing to do is get rid of the lamp but the only problem is you haven't aloowed them to get acclimated to the cold weather. Maybe someone else could help you there!!

 

[fowlsessed]

depending on the breed and age of your chickens you most likely don't need a heat lamp. I don't know about the strange behavior though.

 

[bobbieschicks]

They are warm and toasty under the lamp. So they are having a party! But they don't need the heat lamp. Once the lamp is gone they'll stop their late night escapades.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

It is true that most chickens don't need a heat lamp unless they are featherless. Mine do fine. If any of them have very large combs you can put some vasoline on to prevent frost bite.

To get them acclimated to the cold you could just put the heat lamp on for a couple of hours in the evening and decrease the time gradually over a week or so.

 

[Imp]

If you want to use the lamp, it won't hurt them. I have lights too, and they'll sleep when they want to.

Imp

 

[Jerseycoop]

Quote:
Thank you all! Imp first I love your quote! I do have a feather pecker in the bunch so I have 5 bare backs and 2 fully feathered. I thought they were molting but it's been 7 weeks and they still have missing feathers near their tail feathers. Was worried they'd catch a bug. Imp did your Chickens get use to the light?

 

[bobbieschicks]

If they have missing tail feathers - have you checked for lice or mites? If they are balding in spots you may want to check them for bugs.

 

[Jerseycoop]

It's more on their backs..I've checked many times but was unable to find anything creepy crawly

 

[Imp]

Quote:
Thank you all! Imp first I love your quote! I do have a feather pecker in the bunch so I have 5 bare backs and 2 fully feathered. I thought they were molting but it's been 7 weeks and they still have missing feathers near their tail feathers. Was worried they'd catch a bug. Imp did your Chickens get use to the light?

I have always had lights in the coop, and it's never caused me any trouble. Well occasionally I'll hear the eggsong a little early.

Thankfully all my neighbors like my chickens. I use a regular white light- CFL. Red is supposed to be better if you have feather peckers.
They roost just like normal, sometimes I see them tuck their heads into their feathers.
It works well for me because my work schedule is all over. Last night I got home at 10pm, was out taking care of and feeding the chickens at about 11pm, and they were happy to see me.

Good luck with your feather pickers, hope you can resolve it soon. I agree with bobbieschicks, might be parasites, or still molting.
Imp