Red heat light and regular white light in coop issues

[ametauss]

I'm not sure if my girls are happy with the new coop setup.

I have a red heat light that's on 24x7 and a white light that is on a timer for 4am-8pm...

I'm not getting many eggs (1 a day) from my 9 girls all of which should be laying...

Do they think the red heat light is a regular light and thus are getting too much light??

 

[rdranch]

I think maybe your white light should turn off while it's still light outside. I have read that having their day end suddenly when a light tunrs off can lead to fewer eggs.

My light comes on at 2:00am and tunrs off around 8:00am when the sun is completely up and shining.

Does your coop have a window to let in natural light? Do the chickens get outside in their run for most of the day?

 

[Mrs MIA]

Depending on what your temps are, they probably don't need the heat lamp. If you have the white light on a timer, perhaps just have the light come on at say 6am, and turn off again when it gets light, whatever that time is for you. For me that's about 10am now.

Let them go to bed when it gets dark naturally. Are you giving them a little extra feed/protein to help with the cooler temps? Are they old enough to be molting? Could they have lice? All of these things will decrease egg production, and it's good to give them a little bit of a break in the Winter.

 

[waynesgarden]

How cold is it getting in Kentucky? It's not getting anywhere near cold enough to require a heat light here in Western Maine. (I do have a heated waterer since the water will freeze during the days while I'm away working.)

A red heat light will throw off light 24 hours a day. If I needed a heat lamp here in Maine, I'd look at a ceramic heater that screws into the light socket. That would give your birds a little rest from the constant light.

Wayne

 

[ametauss]

How would I really be able to tell if they had lice?? I use the Sweet PDZ on the floor of their coop which I thought would prevent lice....

I was trying to get them to know where to lay their eggs so I was keeping them in the coop which has no windows... Only one girl is molting.... I let them out on the weekends while I'm there to run around the barn yard.... If I don't keep the door closed to the coop, the pygmy goats tend to get in and eat their food which I was told was bad for the goats.... it's not medicated...

I wanted to keep the coop warm enough so the water would not freeze.

I'll look for a ceramic bulb now that I know they think it's light 24x7.... bad idea....

 

[cmom]

Were you getting eggs from them before you moved them to their new coop? Sometimes it takes a little while for them to re-adjust.

 

[speckledhen]

PDZ does not kill bugs at all. It only absorbs moisture and ammonia. You need food grade DE for bug control or something chemical.
I agree they do not need heat right now and maybe never. Certainly, they shouldnt have too much light to extend the days, either. My coops are not heated. We've been down to 5 degrees already with no ill effects. I have a heatlamp suspended just above the waterer to defrost the tray in the a.m. They are healthier with more natural rhythms.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Sweet PDZ isn't going to do a thing against lice. Food-grade DE might help a little, but lice stay mostly on the birds not the bedding so even if they dust themselves periodically you can have DE in the bedding and still have lice on the birds.

Part the feathers -- blowing works well -- and look for little crawly things on the skin or lower feather shafts.

I was trying to get them to know where to lay their eggs so I was keeping them in the coop which has no windows...

Oh goodness, cut some windows in it. I promise you will never regret it, nor will the chickens. Coops need windows!!

I wanted to keep the coop warm enough so the water would not freeze.

Heating the entire coop is a tremendously inefficient (expensive and not overly safe) way of trying to keep water liquid. A heated waterer base is EVER so much more sensible

Good luck,

Pat​

 

[speckledhen]

How about ventilation? If you put birds with their moist poop and respiration in an enclosed space, you are asking for serious trouble. They need fresh air and a dry home.
DE will kill lice, but if they do have them, you'll have to dust the birds themselves with it, around the butt fluff and under the wings.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Yep... I check around the vent for anything crawling around. If I find anything, they get treated. We had a bad case of them this summer that really decreased the egg output. Once we got the lice under control, they've been laying like troopers.

The Sweet PDZ, as it's been said, is only for keeping the shavings drier and odor-free longer. If they have a favorite dusting hole, sprinkle some DE generously in the hole, and they'll treat themselves when they fluff.

I finally had to admit that my 7.5 week old chicks were uncomfortable at 10°F in the coop, so I added a heat lamp until it warms up again a little. It's hanging in one spot so that they can huddle under it. I have a heater-base for the waterer, so I'm not trying to heat the whole coop. The other birds are fine, and it's still -3°F outside with several of them hanging around outside.