Why You Shouldn't Light Your Coop
1. According to many chicken keepers, supplemental lighting, which forces your hens to continue laying eggs, is extremely harmful to their internal systems and can lead to serious health issues. Despite the fact that these hypotheses are unproven, the possible consequences have the power to deter many farmers from using supplemental lighting. Ovarian cancer, egg binding, and vent prolapse are a few of the potential side effects. All of these ailments have catastrophic outcomes if untreated.
2. The risk of a fire is the most evident adverse impact of a coop light, especially if you use a heat lamp. It can be quite unsafe to have a heat source next to dry sawdust and hay, probable sparking, and unsecured wiring. Any lighting system should be installed with every safety measure possible to prevent fire because coop fires can have catastrophic consequences.
3. Light bulbs can break, and even if they don't cause a coop fire, there could still be further repercussions. A single drop of water can cause a hot light bulb to break, and coop lights are frequently subjected to the flapping wings and curious pecks of chickens. If you elect to light your coop, it is crucial to locate the lighting mechanism high on the ceiling and out of your chickens' reach. You may also want to think about covering the fixture in chicken wire to keep it safe. In a coop floor's shavings, a shattered bulb will leave hundreds of tiny, razor-sharp fragments that are difficult to locate. "Shatterproof" bulbs are not a choice because they discharge poisons that are lethal to hens, and these shards will sever your hen's feet.
4. Any alteration to a chicken's natural rhythms may worry your chickens. Prior to any negative effects on your health, stress will have an impact on how your hen behaves. Stressed hens are more likely to engage in cannibalism and hen-pecking. To build up your hen's tolerance when lighting your coop, start out slowly and use only a 25 or 40-watt lamp. White lights shouldn't be left on continuously since chickens will mistake them for sunlight and won't sleep at night. Use a light solely to provide them with 14 to 16 hours of "sun" each day, and if you're using a timer, make sure it turns on and off at the proper intervals.
If you plan to sell your eggs commercially, lighting your coop may be vital to make sure that your chickens are laying, and red lights have been proved to improve chicken health in general. But use additional caution around any exposed electrical wiring or lighting in your coop, and avoid overstressing your chickens if you do not stand to gain from it.
