Am I starving my chickens at nite?

[alaskachick]

My chicken family get put into their coop at about 8 pm. I do not put their watering and feeding containers in the coop with them? So basically they do not eat or drink for about 10 hours at nite. I am wondering if this is wrong. The chickens are still pullets. Expecting their first lay in about one month or so. Most are Delawares. Thanks.

 

[Beekissed]

No, you are not starving them....they usually roost at night and do not eat until it gets light and they come off the roosts. Same with water. Leaving feed out in the coop at night encourages rodents to visit, so I don't usually do this.

 

[gryeyes]

I don't think you are, but why don't you keep feed in the coop? It would be safe from varmints such as sparrows and jays and whatnot that visit the run. Plus, it reinforces the "This is Our Home and Where We Live/Eat" concept.

Lots of people don't keep water in the coop due to dampness and spillage onto the bedding. I keep a one-gallon nipple waterer inside JUST in case. The coop also has an automatic door, so it opens and closes by itself according to dawn or dusk. The chickens can come and go as they please, but there are waterers outside, too.

 

[gumpsgirl]

I keep the water in the run areas here so when my chickens go to be for the night, they don't drink until I let them out in the morning. I do keep the food in the coop, but once they go to roost at night, they stay there because they can't see so they don't eat anyways.

I think your chickens will be just fine with the way you are doing things.

 

[Imp]

If it's dark they won't get off the roost to eat anyways, but they will be famished in the morning.

Imp-You must not be having much darkness this time of year, living in the land of the midnight sun.

 

[nsanywhere]

morning for a chicken is early......sunrise......that could be 5:30 a.m. When they wake, they are ready for food and water. Without it, they could get stressed, which will lower your egg production.

Best to have access to food and water so they can help themselves, unless you are there to open pens at sunrise every day.

My chickens have a coop with attached outside fenced run area. I keep food in the coop, water in the run. I never close up the coop, so they can go out for water, morning scratch, whatever, when they want to. They generally go in the coop to roost around 7 pm summers, 4 pm winter, but they still eat and scratch in the bedding, get in a nest or two, then settle to roost. If I took away access to food or water that would be a stressful thing for them. Plus, I like to sleep in a bit in the morning rather than be in the coop at the crack of dawn!

 

[1_FnkyFrm]

I would put water in the coop, due to the fact they are up early...

 

[Wolfwoman]

If you're in Alaska, then your birds are up for about 20 hours right now, so yes they need to have food and water available to them. I know at midnight mine are still up because it's light. They aren't QUITE as active as mid day, but they are up.

 

[alaskachick]

This is gonna seem strange and maybe something is wrong, but I have never witnessed my chickens roosting. I have a wonderful roosting ladder and other boards they can roost on in the coop. I think they all sleep in one corner, cuz that is where they always are in the morning. I think they should be roosting by now, right? As far as the food and water inside the coop, I have an above average size coop and yard for 10 chickens . They chickens spend lots of time eating in the sunny yard area where I throw the scratch. I keep one of those hanging type feeders in the patio that we have built them. It stays dry when it rains and they like to use that area so dig in the dirt and roll around in it. My chickens are very shy and run from me when I enter the pen. I hope they are happy. I think I will keep the water and food outside and when winter comes I will move it inside.
Yes, we are having light 24 hours right now, but I put them in a dark coop so I am thinking they are sleeping in side even if its on the wood chip floor.

 

[Imp]

Chickens don't have to roost. They are fine on the floor. Might need to spend a little more time making sure the floor is clean. I didn't have roosts until I had chickens for about 4 years.

Imp