Red Light

[Ellie]

I put a red light ... non heat .. in the coop because the bible chicken books say that the red light calms them.

Since putting it in, I have noticed that they are aggressive towards me. That is out of the ordinary. Is it because they can't see as well?

I am about ready to put a regular light back in...

Ellie

 

[BirdBrain]

I would change it back and see what happens. Do you need a light in there?

 

[rooster-red]

How long do you keep this light on?

 

[lacyloo]

ellie we named our new kitten ellie lol

 

[Ellie]

I just turn on the light when I go to say good night to them and lock them in for the night.

They peck at me and they have never done that before... I associated it with the light. If it doesn't stop, I will change it back. Just wondered if anyone had the same experience.

Lacy... great name for a cat lol...

Ellie

 

[mdbucks]

maybe they think its a heat lamp and your part if the buffet.

 

[rooster-red]

I guess what I was trying to ask is do you leave the light on all night?

 

[Ellie]

Oh, sorry, Rooster, I didn't understand.

No, I only turn it on when I go in to "kiss them goodnight".

I used to turn on a regular light and it seemed so bright and they would jump down off their perch and get something to eat and drink.

I did not want to disturb them, just go in and pet them and say goodnight to them. I put the red light bulb in because the book said that they are calmer with it. Not so... at least the pecking thing does not seem calm.

Ellie

 

[Dawn419]

I just had a thought...(Skip would tell me to hold on to it dearly, as it is a rare thing)...

Chickens hate change! That could be part of the pecking thing.

My reason for thinking this is...

We got our birds as day-olds back in May. We brooded them indoors for 6 weeks before we moved them outside. I used a red lamp the whole time while brooding them.

When we moved them outside, more for my sanity...than for the chickens, we installed a 6' section of outdoor rope/tube lights in the coop. We could only get them in clear or blue so we bought the clear rope, then I colored the entire length of it red with a Sharpie/permanent marker. The lights are set on a timer to come on just before dark and to turn off as it gets light. I can go into the coops at any time of the night to check on the birds and they've never been aggressive towards me when I do.

Don't know if this is any help or not, but I hope so!

Edited because I forgot the pic...

smacking self in forehead

Dawn

 

[Ellie]

Hmm, you may have something there. I will leave the red light in for one week more and if they don't like it, I will put the other one back in. I only did it so they wouldn't jump down and get something to eat when I go in at night.

I worried about them getting back up on the roosts in the dark. Silly me....

Ellie