How Long Can They Be Shut In Their Coop?

[fuscia]

I shut my chickens in at about 8:30 but I don't let them out until 8:30-9am. So that's like 12 hours in there and they are ornery when I let them out! LOL. The Rooster is anyway. Last night I apparently forgot to shut them in or close the fence because at 8am they were out pecking around the back door! I'm just glad nothing tried to get into the coop with them. I'm thinking of building an attached run so they can come in and out for food and then I'll just let them out from there during the day to free range or be in their yard.
But is 12 hours in the coop too long? I don't put food or water in with them and I'm not an early riser. Although once school is back in I'll be up at 6:40am like it or not. Hmmmm.

 

[Poultry parent]

They're fine overnight

 

[lazy gardener]

Depends on the size of the coop, the size of the flock, and the temperature in the coop.

 

[GC-Raptor]

If you're not opening the coop at sunrise, I would have feed and water in the coop. (At the very least water).
I open my coop and turn on the lights at 5 a.m. year round. .
The first thing my girls do is make a beeline for the feeder, or nest boxes if that egg is on its way out.
Set an alarm to wake you at sunrise, (if you can't have water in the coop) and go back to sleep after you let them out. That's what I do if I don't have to work. GC

 

[gjfurtsch]

I shut my chickens in at about 8:30 but I don't let them out until 8:30-9am. So that's like 12 hours in there and they are ornery when I let them out! LOL. The Rooster is anyway. Last night I apparently forgot to shut them in or close the fence because at 8am they were out pecking around the back door! I'm just glad nothing tried to get into the coop with them. I'm thinking of building an attached run so they can come in and out for food and then I'll just let them out from there during the day to free range or be in their yard.
But is 12 hours in the coop too long? I don't put food or water in with them and I'm not an early riser. Although once school is back in I'll be up at 6:40am like it or not. Hmmmm.

I did this for my waterer, it was relatively inexpensive keeps the water from freezing keep the bugs out and keeps of me getting hot in the summer. I don't know how many chickens are in your flock but you can expand the pipe or increase the size of the cooler and increase the chicken nipples. The chickens are pretty aggressive with the nipples and they turn the pipe that's why I wired it up so they could move it and break the seal. Happy day!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't get up until as late as 9:30 some mornings and mine are fine. I do have water in the coop though.

 

[TheCochinMomma]

We have a fox we r trying to catch, so until then we have kept ours in for a couple weeks and are fine

 

[TheCochinMomma]

Obviously they have fresh food and water every day