Heat Lamp at night & winter?

[Dee Dee N Desiree]

Our flock is 7 months now and laying eggs. I use the heat lamp at night in the coop, but not in the roosting area, to keep them warm at night, plus I had read it can keep them calm. I have it on a timer, on at dusk off at dawn. I've been thinking (dangerous), does it affect their sleep and egg laying to have that light on? I live in Washington State. Winters are mild but I'm surrounded by water and where I live it gets pretty windy. Should I use the lamp for the winter? I've been reading on the site and it seems many don't use them. I'm a mother hen! I worry about them being cold. Today it was so windy and rainy that the coop door slammed shut and they were stuck in the rain for a bit, but when they came in, they seemed to enjoy that heat lamp. Thanks in advance for any advice and tips.

 

[SeaPolka]

Our flock is 7 months now and laying eggs. I use the heat lamp at night in the coop, but not in the roosting area, to keep them warm at night, plus I had read it can keep them calm. I have it on a timer, on at dusk off at dawn. I've been thinking (dangerous), does it affect their sleep and egg laying to have that light on? I live in Washington State. Winters are mild but I'm surrounded by water and where I live it gets pretty windy. Should I use the lamp for the winter? I've been reading on the site and it seems many don't use them. I'm a mother hen! I worry about them being cold. Today it was so windy and rainy that the coop door slammed shut and they were stuck in the rain for a bit, but when they came in, they seemed to enjoy that heat lamp. Thanks in advance for any advice and tips.

They don't need the heat lamp. At seven months and laying they're producing enough heat to keep themselves warm and keep it trapped in their feathers. As long as there's no drafts and you have good ventilation, they'll be fine.

 

[aart]

Yeah, they don't need heat.
Matter of fact it can be a detriment, not to mention a fire danger, they need to acclimate to cooler temps as winter approaches.
As long as they are dry and out of the wind, their feathers will keep them plenty warm.
Might be a good idea to have a sheltered area outside the coop in case the door blows shut again.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You’ve hit a few different topics but let’s try to address them one at a time. First, do they need the heat? The short answer is probably “No”. That depends on what your coop looks like.

Now, some discussion. Do you provide heat for the wild birds that overwinter? Of course not, they don’t need it. Neither do your chickens. Your chickens are wearing a down coat, they are perfectly capable of keeping themselves warm. You don’t need to keep the area where they are warm, you need to allow themselves to keep themselves warm. There are two elements to that.

Chickens, like other birds, keep themselves warm by trapping tiny pockets of air in their feathers and down. It’s those trapped air pockets that provide insulation and keep them warm. If they are in a strong enough breeze to ruffle those feathers those tiny air pockets can escape and they lose the insulation effect. They need to be able to get out of strong breezes when they want to. In summer, warmer weather, they like those strong breezes. But when it gets cold, near freezing, mine avoid strong winds. I took this photo when it was 4 degrees above zero Fahrenheit. I left the pop door open and let them decide what they wanted to do. Since a strong breeze was not blowing they went outside.

Your big danger in freezing weather is frostbite. Any time the temperature is below freezing there is a risk of frostbite, yet your birds that overwinter and my chickens that go out in fairly cold temperatures don’t get it. They can handle really cold temperatures as long as the moisture level is low. Inside a coop you can have a moisture build-up from their breathing, their poop, maybe you have unfrozen water in the coop, or maybe you have some other way for water to get inside. That excess moisture needs to go away. You handle that by having good ventilation. There are different ways to provide good ventilation. Some people pretty much have one wall wide open, covered with wire, but the other three walls are solid and the roost is back in that cul-de-sac where breezes don’t get to them. That’s kind of a specialty design, getting the proportions right, but those are used where it gets colder than you will see. I have openings at the top of my walls so any breezes are over the birds’ heads. You will get some slight air movement where he chickens are but that’s not strong enough to ruffle their feathers, it just gets the moisture out.

If your coop is pretty much airtight so moisture cannot escape they will be in danger of frostbite when the temps get just a little below freezing. People that have experience frostbite problems have solved them by providing more ventilation. That type of passive protection is good insurance, the birds are protected even if you have power outage. You don’t have a fire hazard out there. And it’s economical, you are not paying for electricity to dangerously heat them.

If it is airtight you also run into the problem of possible ammonia poisoning. When the poop breaks down it produces ammonia, which is dangerous to their respiratory system if it builds up. Ammonia is lighter than air so if you don’t have ventilation up high it can build up. It doesn’t take much of a hole up over their heads to let that ammonia out, a lot of out coops aren’t that airtight, but you do need some way for that ammonia to escape.

Now, does the light affect their sleep or egg laying? Chickens need their dark time. You can have behavior problems and egg quality problems with too much light. If you are using a red heat lamp bulb that’s probably not bothering them that much. If you are using a white bulb, well that’s probably not a good thing to do.

Light is pretty important to egg laying. The longer the day the more the hen can eat and digest. It takes a certain amount of nutrients to make an egg, so egg production can drop with shorter days. Also, light is a trigger for when a hen releases a yolk to form an egg. Another trigger is when she lays an egg. They have the timing worked out so a yolk is released when the egg can be laid during the day, not at night when they are on the roost. So shorter days can result in fewer overall eggs being laid, but it does not stop them for laying.

What is more important to egg laying is whether the light is getting shorter or longer as it naturally does with the changes of seasons. When days get shorter in the fall/winter, hens stop laying eggs and molt. A lot of pullets skip this molt their first fall/ winter and keep laying until the following fall/winter, but mature hens will stop laying and molt. The days getting longer in the spring is a trigger for them to start laying again after the molt is over. Some hens, especially production breeds, don’t wait for the days to get longer after the molt finishes but start laying then, even with the days still getting shorter. Each hen is an individual and does these things her own way, but there are trends and tendencies.

If you are providing light and stop it, you have shortened the day so they might molt and stop laying, going back to their natural cycle.

If hens lay or a long stretch, say 13 to 18 months without a break, their bodies kind of get worn down. Egg production drops substantially and the quality of eggs laid can be affected. When they get to that point it’s a good thing to let them molt and not try to keep them producing with light.

So can you provide heat during the winter? Of course you can, they are your birds. Do your chickens need that heat, not if they have a proper coop with breeze protection and good ventilation. Can providing that light at night affect their behavior, probably not if you are using a red light but yes if you are using a white light.

 

[Eggcessive]

I don't use heat in my coop unless the temp is going down around zero F overnight, perhaps only about 10 total days each winter. Then I use a heat lamp about 6 feet off the ground, secured to a beam twice. It is very dangerous, but it may keep the temps up closer to 20.
The waterers are the problem that can cause frostbite, since they can get feet or wattles wet in my electric dog bowl waterers. You can raise them on a board for height and close off part of the tops so they cannot accidentally step in them.
Be sure and install simple hardware to secure your coop and run doors when they are open or closed. Many chickens get injured by slamming doors, not to mention getting stuck inside or outside the coop.

 

[lazy gardener]

RR pretty much said all that needs to be said. It's very unlikely that you will experience winter temps that are an issue for your birds. Plenty of ventilation year round is key. Even when temps go below 0*F and stay there 24/7 for days at a time, I do not supply any heat UNLESS my birds are showing signs of hypothermia. In such instances, I've noted that they actually eat less, and don't move around as much. Only then, will I give them night time heat in the form of a red heat lamp. And only with extreme caution: keep the bulb dusted, secure it in several different ways, so it can't possibly fall. Be sure the birds can't touch it.

My birds have a section of their winter run turned into a sunroom: deep litter, green house tarp roof, and 6 mil. plastic on 3 sides. They prefer to be outside during the day any time the temp is above 15*F.

 

[Dee Dee N Desiree]

You’ve hit a few different topics but let’s try to address them one at a time. First, do they need the heat? The short answer is probably “No”. That depends on what your coop looks like.

Now, some discussion. Do you provide heat for the wild birds that overwinter? Of course not, they don’t need it. Neither do your chickens. Your chickens are wearing a down coat, they are perfectly capable of keeping themselves warm. You don’t need to keep the area where they are warm, you need to allow themselves to keep themselves warm. There are two elements to that.

Chickens, like other birds, keep themselves warm by trapping tiny pockets of air in their feathers and down. It’s those trapped air pockets that provide insulation and keep them warm. If they are in a strong enough breeze to ruffle those feathers those tiny air pockets can escape and they lose the insulation effect. They need to be able to get out of strong breezes when they want to. In summer, warmer weather, they like those strong breezes. But when it gets cold, near freezing, mine avoid strong winds. I took this photo when it was 4 degrees above zero Fahrenheit. I left the pop door open and let them decide what they wanted to do. Since a strong breeze was not blowing they went outside.

View attachment 1164072

Your big danger in freezing weather is frostbite. Any time the temperature is below freezing there is a risk of frostbite, yet your birds that overwinter and my chickens that go out in fairly cold temperatures don’t get it. They can handle really cold temperatures as long as the moisture level is low. Inside a coop you can have a moisture build-up from their breathing, their poop, maybe you have unfrozen water in the coop, or maybe you have some other way for water to get inside. That excess moisture needs to go away. You handle that by having good ventilation. There are different ways to provide good ventilation. Some people pretty much have one wall wide open, covered with wire, but the other three walls are solid and the roost is back in that cul-de-sac where breezes don’t get to them. That’s kind of a specialty design, getting the proportions right, but those are used where it gets colder than you will see. I have openings at the top of my walls so any breezes are over the birds’ heads. You will get some slight air movement where he chickens are but that’s not strong enough to ruffle their feathers, it just gets the moisture out.

If your coop is pretty much airtight so moisture cannot escape they will be in danger of frostbite when the temps get just a little below freezing. People that have experience frostbite problems have solved them by providing more ventilation. That type of passive protection is good insurance, the birds are protected even if you have power outage. You don’t have a fire hazard out there. And it’s economical, you are not paying for electricity to dangerously heat them.

If it is airtight you also run into the problem of possible ammonia poisoning. When the poop breaks down it produces ammonia, which is dangerous to their respiratory system if it builds up. Ammonia is lighter than air so if you don’t have ventilation up high it can build up. It doesn’t take much of a hole up over their heads to let that ammonia out, a lot of out coops aren’t that airtight, but you do need some way for that ammonia to escape.

Now, does the light affect their sleep or egg laying? Chickens need their dark time. You can have behavior problems and egg quality problems with too much light. If you are using a red heat lamp bulb that’s probably not bothering them that much. If you are using a white bulb, well that’s probably not a good thing to do.

Light is pretty important to egg laying. The longer the day the more the hen can eat and digest. It takes a certain amount of nutrients to make an egg, so egg production can drop with shorter days. Also, light is a trigger for when a hen releases a yolk to form an egg. Another trigger is when she lays an egg. They have the timing worked out so a yolk is released when the egg can be laid during the day, not at night when they are on the roost. So shorter days can result in fewer overall eggs being laid, but it does not stop them for laying.

What is more important to egg laying is whether the light is getting shorter or longer as it naturally does with the changes of seasons. When days get shorter in the fall/winter, hens stop laying eggs and molt. A lot of pullets skip this molt their first fall/ winter and keep laying until the following fall/winter, but mature hens will stop laying and molt. The days getting longer in the spring is a trigger for them to start laying again after the molt is over. Some hens, especially production breeds, don’t wait for the days to get longer after the molt finishes but start laying then, even with the days still getting shorter. Each hen is an individual and does these things her own way, but there are trends and tendencies.

If you are providing light and stop it, you have shortened the day so they might molt and stop laying, going back to their natural cycle.

If hens lay or a long stretch, say 13 to 18 months without a break, their bodies kind of get worn down. Egg production drops substantially and the quality of eggs laid can be affected. When they get to that point it’s a good thing to let them molt and not try to keep them producing with light.

So can you provide heat during the winter? Of course you can, they are your birds. Do your chickens need that heat, not if they have a proper coop with breeze protection and good ventilation. Can providing that light at night affect their behavior, probably not if you are using a red light but yes if you are using a white light.

Thank You Ridge Runner that makes great sense. Thank you for giving me such a detailed response with so much great information. I'm guessing you've had chickens for a long time. My heat lamp is red, but I noticed it is loosing it's redness so that started my quest with this question. My coop has lots of ventilation, but you gave me some tips to look out for. I have one more question? Since they are used to the light should I reduce it slowly or just go for it?

 

[Dee Dee N Desiree]

RR pretty much said all that needs to be said. It's very unlikely that you will experience winter temps that are an issue for your birds. Plenty of ventilation year round is key. Even when temps go below 0*F and stay there 24/7 for days at a time, I do not supply any heat UNLESS my birds are showing signs of hypothermia. In such instances, I've noted that they actually eat less, and don't move around as much. Only then, will I give them night time heat in the form of a red heat lamp. And only with extreme caution: keep the bulb dusted, secure it in several different ways, so it can't possibly fall. Be sure the birds can't touch it.

My birds have a section of their winter run turned into a sunroom: deep litter, green house tarp roof, and 6 mil. plastic on 3 sides. They prefer to be outside during the day any time the temp is above 15*F.

Thank you very much. In Washington we don't get much of that. With that said, last winter we had a week of freezing temps, so I will keep this in mind.

 

[Dee Dee N Desiree]

I don't use heat in my coop unless the temp is going down around zero F overnight, perhaps only about 10 total days each winter. Then I use a heat lamp about 6 feet off the ground, secured to a beam twice. It is very dangerous, but it may keep the temps up closer to 20.
The waterers are the problem that can cause frostbite, since they can get feet or wattles wet in my electric dog bowl waterers. You can raise them on a board for height and close off part of the tops so they cannot accidentally step in them.
Be sure and install simple hardware to secure your coop and run doors when they are open or closed. Many chickens get injured by slamming doors, not to mention getting stuck inside or outside the coop.

I had not thought about the water and their feet getting wet with the waterer. I will raise that up more. My lamp is up high, I learned a hard lesson on that. Thank you so much for the great tips.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you are going to remove the light, just remove it. I don't see anything to be gained by gradually reducing the light duration. Either way, either it will trigger a molt of it won't.