Lights on in the coop

[KKelli]

We have six hens we raised they are now prob 18 weeks. When we got them it was still cold at night, so we had a heat lamp in the coop. As it got warmer we tried to take it out but they seemed upset. We set up a normal light bulb and it seemed to calm them. Now it is months later they are laying eggs and seem happy and healthy but we have never been able keep off the light! It is on 24hrs and Every time I try to turn it off they start going crazy, doing the little growl and screeching. I turn it back on and they calm down. The problem is I notice when I check the security cam in the coop they seem to be up a lot. It’s 1am right now and they are open eyed and just standing on the box they sleep on. I don’t know if it’s bc the light and if so how can I get them off of it ? They have had it every day of their life so I assume it’s a comfort thing now and I don’t want to stress them out .
They do free range most days so they get plenty of sunshine and fresh air and they return to the coop on their own when it starts getting dark to get closed in .

So in short is it harmful to their sleep / wake patterns to have a 24 hour light on in the coop and if so how can I ween Them off of it without overly stressing them.

 

[Percheron chick]

Yes it is bad for them. Just turn the light off in the morning. They will naturally return to the coop in the evening. Let them roost and go to bed when the Sun goes down. They will complain and jostle for position but just let them be. They'll live and it will be a distant memory by Monday.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Animals, like people, sleep best with a natural day/night cycle. Yes they'll be upset if you turn off the light, but they'll get over it.

 

[Ruthster55]

I have had chicks claimed as two weeks old but were actually around five weeks old acquired from a place that seems to run a light all night.

I had to wean them off of the light. The process took about two days. The first night I ran the light until around 10 pm and the next night I ran the light until around 8pm. There was complaining but much less the second night.

I think the place runs a light all night to “pump” the chicks’ growth because the light causes them to eat at 2 am when no chicken under natural conditions eats at that time.