For both you and your flock, installing lights in the chicken coop may have a number of advantages. From adding more lighting to increase egg production to adding more heat (depending on the type of bulb used). But is there such a thing as too much good? When the sun starts to set, should the lights be turned off? Or is it possible to keep the lights on all night long? To learn precisely what a keeper should do, I did some study.
So, can you put a light on while a chicken sleeps? With the light on, chickens won't be able to go asleep since they'll think it's daylight, which will keep them up. Instead, for them to obtain the rest they need for a happy, healthy life, hens need complete darkness in their coop at night. Thus, as the sun sets, lighting should be switched off.
Actually, chickens are very light sensitive.
Actually, the main factor affecting their sleep and waking periods is illumination exposure. After all, they are diurnal creatures, which are up during the day and asleep at night.
As a result, illumination is something that must be strictly managed by a keeper, with 14 to 16 hours per day being thought to be the ideal number.
Of course, the time of year may have a significant impact on sunshine exposure; here is where additional heating might be useful. But a timer that activates and deactivates it at certain intervals is seen as essential.
Yet why?
Well, it has been shown scientifically that chickens produce less eggs when there are fewer than 12 hours of sunshine each day. Having access to constant illumination also discourages these birds from depositing eggs.
Thus, a pattern is beginning to emerge. There is a desirable level of brightness to strive for.
While you could be lucky to still receive some eggs with under or overexposure, you should be aware that if your chickens spent the night in the dark, you would get a lot more eggs.
Now let's look more closely at the effects lighting may have on your flock, the factors to take into account, and what is thought to be best for your birds.
