Am I starving my chickens at nite?

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

I keep my feed and water in the coop so I never have to worry about it!

 

[Beekissed]

I feed in the evenings before bed and I keep the waterer inside..usually...and the pop door is open at all times so they can go outside and immediately start foraging when they awaken. But I've never seen any of my gals get off the roost after they have headed for bed, so I'm assuming this means they wait until breakfast to eat and drink..just like us.

 

[ubumartin]

I keep my food and water in the pen. The coop is so small (3x4)and they would get the shavings all wet. I leave the door open during the nice weather. It is a completely enclosed pen. I close them up in the winter for warmth, but I go out early to let them out. It just keeps things cleaner in the coop.

 

[mama2many]

I too keep everything out of the coop. I feed them in the morning around 7 or 8 and they are fine. I have tried to place their water in the coop but it just makes a big mess. When they come out in the morning all they want to do is eat. I have noticed water consumption is up, it is warm here. And for the roosting question I have 1 EE that sleeps in the nest....kinda strange. The rest of the birds, at this time I have only 6 total in the coop, are roosting. And very close together I might add. I can't keep feed in the coop because DH is afraid it will draw undesireables. We have foxes, coyotes, racoons and bears. So I feed in the daylight and only what can be consumed in one day. They get veggies scraps and my roo LOVES mac and cheese, scratch or BOSS and crumbles. If they don't finish the feed it comes in with me at night and the scraps, we only feed what they can eat that day. Hope this helps...

 

[MareeZoCool]

My hubby & I argue about food in the coop all the time! He thinks the chickens need to have huge amounts always available. I say that nights they will be sleeping, and the only thing eating their food after dark could be mice or rats - or bring a coon sniffing around. I serve them dinner & scraps at dusk, then remove the food dishes to clean & dry ready for morning.