Pros and cons of lighting your chicken coop - Mother Earth News (2024)

Whether or not to light your chicken coop is a much-discussed topic among chicken keepers every winter season. Adding chicken coop lighting will help your egg production, but there are negative consequences to artificial lighting. Here are some pros and cons of chicken coop lighting.

Reasons to illuminate your chicken coop

1. Egg production decreases sharply in winter due to reduced daylight and the fact that chickens tend to go through their annual molt in late fall.Supplemental light will counteract the lack of daylight and stimulate the chicken's pituitary gland, which signals her ovaries to release her eggs. Chickens need about 14 hours of light per day to produce eggs, and in many parts of the country the sun only provides about eight hours of light during these winter months. Because most chickens trace their heritage back to equatorial regions, their systems are simply not adapted to continued egg production in the winter light. A light on the timer in the early morning and evening will keep your ladies in the normal state of affairs and keep your basket full of eggs.

2. Sometimes, especially in extreme climates, a chicken coop light can be used to keep your chickens a little warmer during the winter months.Heat lamps are used to keep chicks warm when they first come out of a hatchery, but they can also be used to keep chickens warm in the winter. Chickens are very hardy and covered in fluffy feathers, so the temperature must be very low to require such supplemental heat. Some chicken experts recommend a temperature of around40 classesas ideal for chickens.

3. Many chicken experts have found that red light is the best way to illuminate a chicken coop.The idea is that the subtle light of a red lamp will keep your girls calm. Keep in mind that chickens do not perceive red light as daylight, so adding such a light to your chicken coop will not work for increased egg production. Because it is not perceived as daylight, chicks can be exposed to red light 24/7 without any ill effects. Theories abound that red light prevents chickens from distinguishing between combs and combs, which helps prevent chicken pecking and cannibalism. Although these have not been proven, the potential benefits may outweigh the possible negative effects, especially since red does not have the other effects on chickens that white light does.

4. A good reason to run your coop on a timer or with an easily accessible switch is your ability to pay attention to your chores while caring for the chickens.If you have a day job or just need to get the chicken work out of the way in the morning, you'll need some extra light to make sure you've found all the eggs, provided enough food and water, and to check a accurate head count. You don't have to store it longer than you normally would, which means the impact on the chickens is minimal.

GroundsDoesn'tTo enable your Coop

1. Many chicken keepers believe that supplemental lighting, which forces your chickens to continue their laying cycle, is very bad for their internal systems and can cause serious health problems.Although these theories have not yet been proven, the potential consequences could be enough to deter many farmers from supplemental lighting. The possible side effects include respiratory prolapse, egg binding, and ovarian cancer. These conditions are all fatal if left untreated.

2. The most obvious negative side effect of a chicken coop lamp is the risk of fire, especially if you use a heat lamp.Unsafe wiring, possible sparks, and simply having a heat source near dry sawdust and hay can be very dangerous. Coop brands dodevastating consequencesand every lighting system must be set up with every precaution to prevent fire.

3. Light bulbs can break, and even if a fire doesn't start in the barn, there are other potential consequences.A hot bulb can be destroyed by a single drop of water, and chicken coop lights are often subject to fluttering chicken wings and curious pecks. When lighting your cow, it is important to place the lighting mechanism high in the ceiling, out of reach of your chickens. Consider wrapping the fixture in the coop to secure it. A broken light bulb leaves behind hundreds of small, razor-sharp residues that are not easy to find in the chips of a chicken coop floor. These shards will cut open your chicken's legs, and "unbreakable" onions are not an option because they release toxins that are harmful to your chicken's health.fatalfor chickens.

4. Any change in a chicken's natural rhythm can potentially cause stress to your chickens.Stress can have health consequences, but even before that it already has an effect on your chicken's behavior. Cannibalism and pecking are more common in stressed chickens. When lighting your chicken coop, make sure you start gradually to build up your chicken's tolerance, using only a 25 or 40 watt light. Do not leave a white light on for 24 hours; chickens will perceive it as sunlight and not sleep at night. Use just one lamp to get about 14 to 16 hours of 'sun' a day, and if you use a timer, check that it turns off and on at the correct times.

You may need to light your chicken coop if you sell your eggs commercially to ensure your chickens lay, and red lights have been shown to promote your chicken's overall health. But be extra careful with visible lights or other electrical appliances in your home, and make sure your chickens don't regret stressing you out if you don't benefit from it.

Kirsten Lie-Nielsen runs about 2 hectares of a suburban farm, where she uses geese for weeding and guarding, raises chickens for eggs, bees for honey and tends vegetable gardens for personal use. She recently started restoring an old farmhouse in hopes of farming full-time in the future. Find her online atHostile Valley Farm.

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