Coop Clairification-Newbie

[yotricia02]

Question 1: When you say coop: you mean where they sleep at night or do you mean the whole fenced area they are in (like if they are not free range)?
Question 2: Should I put food and water in the coop (the house they sleep in) at night?
Question 3: Why don't you want the chickens sleeping in the nests at night? Is that unnatural?
Question 4: Do chickens lay eggs at night too?

 

[SmokinChick]

#1 Coop; small house like stucture where chickens have shelter from elements and predators.
Run: where chickens roam during the day, usually fully enclosed for protection from predators.

#2 Water and/or food in the coop if you are unable to let the birds out to the water/food station regularly each mornning.

#3 they will poop in the nests.

#4 No, based on my limited experience.

Good Luck, hope this helps?

 

[yotricia02]

Thanks so much! Additional questions:

#2: If they are let out into the run every morning, should I still put water or food in the coop?
#3: Do they usually get in the nests at night, so should I close the nests off or something?

 

[ECBW]

Coop to chickens is like house to human. Run is like fenced-in yard.

I keep my food and water in the coop because if in the run, other critters would help themselves. Also, it keeps the food from rain and more effective in keeping the water from freezing.

 

[SmokinChick]

Quote:
#2 If there is room and it is easy to get, to do it. No real advantage for the birds.
#3 io blocked off my boxes util they were squatting and close to laying. They laid in tthe corners and under the boxes. I did paint the inside of the boxes black and added short soft curtains. Used the boxes shortly after the remodel.

 

[elmo]

Chickens generally like to roost at the highest point they can get to. If that's not the nesting boxes, then they usually choose not to sleep there. That's why it's often recommended to make sure your nesting boxes are lower than your roost.

 

[iBoodle]

Question 1: When you say coop: you mean where they sleep at night or do you mean the whole fenced area they are in (like if they are not free range)?
The coop is where they sleep at night, their little chicken hut. The run is where they run around during the night/ early evening when I close the run door. Other than that, they have a little fenced in "free range" area.
Question 2: Should I put food and water in the coop (the house they sleep in) at night?
I don't, just because they root around in there and get wood shavings everywhere! I put their food and water out in their enclosed run, so if they are hungry or thirsty at night, they can just walk down and eat.
Question 3: Why don't you want the chickens sleeping in the nests at night? Is that unnatural?
My chickens don't actually have a nesting box. They just lay their eggs in the wood shavings in their coop. So this is N/A for me.
Question 4: Do chickens lay eggs at night too?
In my experience, they lay from anywhere from 7 am to 11 am.