During some particularly cold nights, I had put up the red heat lamp we'd used for brooding in my chicken's coop. It's a coop that can hold double the amount of chickens that I have so they likely don't keep the coop as warm as it could be. The water that's in there freezes and some of their combs have white on the tips, so I got concerned and added the lamp and kept it on 24 hours.
I didn't do it for egg production, just for heat. A few days after I stopped the red light, they started producing more eggs. (I've got 6 chickens and was getting about 4 eggs a day until winter, then about 2-4 eggs a day after winter. My aracauna started laying and I get 4-5 eggs a day now for about a week.) The weather had warmed up and I stopped using the red light.
It's cold again and I started to use it again, but I am concerned about it messing with their sleep. I didn't think the red light did that, but if I go out after dark to check for eggs, they'll jump off their roosts and nibble or wander around. They didn't do that without the light.
Am I driving them crazy keeping the red light on at night?
I didn't do it for egg production, just for heat. A few days after I stopped the red light, they started producing more eggs. (I've got 6 chickens and was getting about 4 eggs a day until winter, then about 2-4 eggs a day after winter. My aracauna started laying and I get 4-5 eggs a day now for about a week.) The weather had warmed up and I stopped using the red light.
It's cold again and I started to use it again, but I am concerned about it messing with their sleep. I didn't think the red light did that, but if I go out after dark to check for eggs, they'll jump off their roosts and nibble or wander around. They didn't do that without the light.
Am I driving them crazy keeping the red light on at night?