Quick answer: chickens sleep about 8 to 12 hours a night, roosting at dusk and waking at dawn, so they sleep longer in winter than in summer. Adult hens need at least about 8 hours of darkness to rest properly, and chicks and older hens sleep more, including daytime naps.
Chickens and people sleep in surprisingly similar ways. They have both deep slow-wave sleep and REM sleep, the stage linked to dreaming. They also have a trick we do not: they can sleep with half their brain at a time. Here is how much sleep your flock needs at each age and season, and how to make sure they get it.
Chicken sleep chart: hours by age and season
| Bird | Typical sleep | Darkness to give | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicks, 0 to 3 weeks (brooder) | Many short naps day and night | Dim or red light is fine at first | Sleep in heaps under the heat; feed and water 24/7 |
| Chicks, 3 to 8 weeks | Long night sleep plus daytime naps | Start giving a dark night | Helps them settle into a day and night rhythm |
| Growing pullets (8 to 18 weeks) | About 10 to 12 hours at night | Natural day length; do not add light | Extra light can push them to lay too young |
| Adult hens, summer | About 8 to 9 hours | Natural night (about 8 to 9 hours) | Long days mean peak laying |
| Adult hens, winter | About 12 to 15 hours on the roost | Natural night, or at least 8 hours if you add light | Short days slow or stop laying |
| Older hens and molting hens | Longer nights plus daytime naps | Natural day length | Rest helps feather regrowth |
| Broody hens | Doze on and off around the clock | A dark, quiet nest | Leave the nest only once or twice a day |
How many hours do chickens sleep?
Chickens sleep for most of the time it is dark. They head to the roost as the light fades and settle down within about half an hour, then wake as it starts to get light. That is why there is no single number: in a long summer day they may get around 8 hours, and in the depths of winter they can spend 14 hours or more on the roost.
Their night is not one solid block. Chicken sleep comes in short cycles of slow-wave sleep with brief bursts of REM, and they stir, shuffle and mutter on the roost a few times a night. That is normal. I have heard my hens make sleepy little trills in the dark when I check the coop.
Individual birds vary too. Some of my hens take an afternoon nap every day, while others cluck around from morning until bedtime.
Do chickens sleep more in winter?
Yes. Chickens go to bed with the sun, so the shorter the day, the longer they stay on the roost. In winter my flock is often tucked in before 5 pm.
Day length also controls laying. Light hitting a hen’s eyes, and even passing through her skull, triggers the hormones that make her ovary release a yolk. Hens lay best with about 14 to 16 hours of light, and when days drop below about 12 hours, most backyard hens slow down or stop. That winter break is natural, and a lot of keepers, me included, let their hens have it.
How much darkness do chickens need?
Give adult hens at least about 8 hours of real darkness every night. Penn State Extension recommends no more than about 16 hours of light a day for laying hens and says they must still get a dark period to sleep. Hens kept under too much light become restless, flighty and more likely to peck each other.
Never leave a light on all night. Without darkness, chickens do not sleep properly, and the stress shows up as feather pecking and bullying. Pushing their bodies to lay nonstop also raises the risk of reproductive problems like egg binding and prolapse.
Should you put a light in the chicken coop?
You do not have to. If you want winter eggs, you can add light, but do it carefully:
- Use a timer and add the extra light in the early morning, not the evening, so the hens go to roost with the natural sunset instead of being plunged into sudden darkness off the perch.
- Top up to no more than about 14 to 16 hours of total light, and change it by no more than an hour a week.
- Use a regular warm LED bulb, not a heat lamp. Fully feathered adult hens do not need heat in winter, and heat lamps are a leading cause of coop fires.
- Mount it high and out of reach, keep wiring and fixtures free of dust and cobwebs, and keep it away from bedding.
- Avoid bulbs with a non-stick (PTFE) safety coating, which can give off fumes that are toxic to birds when they heat up.
- Do not light pullets under about 18 weeks; let them start laying on their own schedule.
For cold-weather care without a heater, see can chickens survive winter.
How to help your chickens get a good night’s sleep
The two things chickens need most at night are darkness and a good roost. They come from jungle fowl that slept high in trees away from predators, and backyard hens still want to perch off the ground.
- Roost bars: about 8 to 10 inches of roost per standard hen, with a wide, flat top (a 2×4 on its wide side works well) so they can cover their toes in winter.
- A locked, predator-proof coop. A raccoon at the wire will keep the whole flock awake, or worse.
- Good ventilation without drafts at roost height, so ammonia and moisture can escape.
- Clean bedding and no mites. Red mites feed at night, and itchy hens will refuse to roost.
- Food and water outside or full by dawn. They do not need it at night; see do chickens need food and water at night.
If your hens suddenly refuse to go in, look at why chickens stop going into the coop at night.
Do chickens sleep during the day?
They do not need to, but many take short naps, especially around midday or on hot afternoons. You will see a hen sink down in a dust bath or a shady spot, fluff up and close her eyes for a few minutes. Hens in larger flocks nap more readily because there are other eyes watching for hawks.
Chicks nap constantly, often falling asleep mid-step and flopping flat, which scares every new chick keeper at least once. Older hens and molting hens also nap more.
When daytime sleepiness is a warning sign
A quick nap is normal. A hen that stands hunched with her eyes closed, tail down and feathers puffed for long stretches, or that will not join the flock, is a different story. Check her over against these signs your chickens are sick.
Chickens sleep with one eye open
Chickens can rest one half of the brain while the other half stays alert, called unihemispheric slow-wave sleep. The eye linked to the awake half stays open. In bird sleep studies, the birds at the ends of a row kept their outward-facing eye open more often, watching for predators, while birds in the middle could close both eyes. Next time you check the coop at night, look at the birds on the ends of the roost.
Do chickens dream?
Probably. Chickens have REM sleep, the stage in which people do most of their dreaming, though in birds each REM episode lasts only seconds rather than minutes. During REM, a sleeping hen’s eyes flick under the lids and her head may droop. The rest of the night is mainly slow-wave sleep, which helps the brain process what the bird learned that day.
Why do roosters crow before sunrise?
Roosters have a strong internal clock that tells them dawn is coming, so they often start crowing before it gets light, even in a dark coop. Lights, noise and other roosters can set them off at night too. If an early alarm is a problem, read about rooster crowing.
The bottom line: you rarely have to worry about whether your chickens are sleeping enough. Give them a safe, dark coop, a good roost and natural day length, and they will put themselves to bed at dusk and sleep as long as the night allows.
Keep reading
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do chickens sleep?
Chickens sleep about 8 to 12 hours a night, from dusk until dawn, so they sleep around 8 hours in summer and much longer on winter nights. Adult hens need at least about 8 hours of darkness, and chicks and older hens sleep more, including daytime naps.
Do chickens sleep more in winter?
Yes. Chickens go to roost at dusk and wake at dawn, so they spend longer on the roost when nights are long. Short winter days also slow or stop laying, because hens lay best with about 14 to 16 hours of light.
Do chickens sleep during the day?
Many chickens take short naps, especially around midday or on hot afternoons, and chicks nap constantly. A hen that stands hunched with her eyes closed and feathers puffed for long periods may be sick rather than tired.
Should you leave a light on in the chicken coop at night?
No. Chickens need at least about 8 hours of darkness to sleep, and constant light causes stress and pecking. If you add light for winter eggs, use a timer, add it in the early morning, keep total light at 16 hours or less and use an LED bulb, not a heat lamp.
Do chickens sleep with one eye open?
Yes. Chickens can rest one half of the brain while the other half stays alert, keeping one eye open to watch for predators. Birds at the ends of a roost do this most, while birds in the middle can close both eyes.
Do chickens dream?
Probably. Chickens have REM sleep, the stage linked to dreaming in people, though each REM episode lasts only seconds. Most of their night is deep slow-wave sleep, which helps the brain process what they learned that day.
