My 6 (almost 7) week old pullets have been spending their days in their new coop and run, but I'm still bringing them in at night to have them sleep in a brooder box in the greenhouse. The problem is, the box is getting small for them. It's fine for sleeping, and I keep the chick waterer in there at night in case they need a drink, but is it okay if they don't have food at night, just until they're in the coop full-time? The problem is when I do put the feeder in there in the morning it is always so caked with shavings that they can't get to the food anyway, and I feel like I am wasting feed.
I've been using a min/max thermometer to monitor the overnight temps in the coop and it's still getting down as low as 40 in there at night. It is 7'x13' with 6' high ceilings-- I just don't think 5 pullets will generate enough heat to warm it up in there (and no electricity yet for a heater-- that's being installed next month). They are pretty much feathered out but I'd rather not risk it-- in another couple of weeks it should be fine temp-wise.
So will no food at night while they're "in transistion" be okay?
I've been using a min/max thermometer to monitor the overnight temps in the coop and it's still getting down as low as 40 in there at night. It is 7'x13' with 6' high ceilings-- I just don't think 5 pullets will generate enough heat to warm it up in there (and no electricity yet for a heater-- that's being installed next month). They are pretty much feathered out but I'd rather not risk it-- in another couple of weeks it should be fine temp-wise.
So will no food at night while they're "in transistion" be okay?