Do chickens need food outside?

[ChickenDude12345]

I just recently let my chickens out after keeping them confined to the coop for three days. They all went out of the coop and I put an outside water in the run. None of them have gone back into eat or drink. Should I put food in the outside run until night when they either go in or I have to bring them in?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some of us keep food or water only in the coop. Some keep food or water only in the run. I keep food and water both in the coop and in the run. There is no one way that is right for everyone. We have our reasons to do what we do. That doesn't mean anyone is right or wrong, it's just the way we choose to do it.

You can find reasons for any way. You might water in the run to keep the coop dry if they spill it. You might water in the coop to keep the water out of the sun so it doesn't heat up or it's easier to keep it thawed in winter. Some people feed in the coop so wild birds don't eat a lot of the feed. Some people feed in the run so feed doesn't attract rodents to the coop. I do both because I usually have immature birds in the flock, widely scattered feed and water stations helps with integration. And other reasons. And on and on and on, lots of different reasons for any decision.

If they know where food and water is they will eat and drink. It may not be according to your schedule or when you are watching, but they will. So come up with your own reasons and do what's most convenient to you.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

I keep all food and water in the run, don't want to entice critters into the coop

 

[NatJ]

Yeah I just thought if I put food and water out there they might get used to staying in the run rather than the coop

You probably want them to spend the day in the run, and the night roosting in the coop.

So food and water in the run would be fine, because they eat & drink during the day but not while they are sleeping.

 

[NatJ]

So how would I get them to go in the coop tonight or any night. Should I just keep bringing them in at night until they get it?

Chickens naturally go sleep in the same place every night.

Since they've been in the coop for 3 days already, they may just go in by themselves.

If they do not go in, then yes you can put them in each night until they get it.

Or you can put some extra-tasty treat in the coop during the afternoon, and shut them in. That way they will be in the right place to put themselves to bed.

(For an "extra-tasty treat," I have good results with wet chicken food. It's just water added to the usual pellets or crumbles, but the chickens usually go crazy for it. After a few days, they learn to recognize the bowl I use to serve it, and will follow wherever I carry the bowl.)

 

[ChickenDude12345]

Chickens naturally go sleep in the same place every night.

Since they've been in the coop for 3 days already, they may just go in by themselves.

If they do not go in, then yes you can put them in each night until they get it.

Or you can put some extra-tasty treat in the coop during the afternoon, and shut them in. That way they will be in the right place to put themselves to bed.

(For an "extra-tasty treat," I have good results with wet chicken food. It's just water added to the usual pellets or crumbles, but the chickens usually go crazy for it. After a few days, they learn to recognize the bowl I use to serve it, and will follow wherever I carry the bowl.)

OK thanks a lot. I have some dried mealworms that they tend to like. Thanks for the advice

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

My chicks are 6-day old, and they prefer to stay most of the day with Mama hen in the run, so I put also water and food outside instead within the coop.

 

[ChickenDude12345]

You probably want them to spend the day in the run, and the night roosting in the coop.

So food and water in the run would be fine, because they eat & drink during the day but not while they are sleeping.

So how would I get them to go in the coop tonight or any night. Should I just keep bringing them in at night until they get it?

 

[Ridgerunner]

My brooder-raised chicks usually start roosting on their own around 10 to 12 weeks if there are no adults around. I've had some start roosting at around 5 weeks, some go longer before they start, but for most it's around 10 to 12 weeks. By roosting, I mean sleeping on the roosts at night. They'll play on the roosts during the day so they can get up there but don't sleep up there. If there are adults on the roosts they are not going to sleep with the adults but may find other places to roost. My broody-raised chicks start sleeping on the roosts when Mama tells them to. I've had some broody hens take their chicks to the roosts as early as 2 weeks so they can fly up there and they can sleep through the night up there at two weeks. Most of my broody hens wait until around 4 or 5 weeks to take their chicks to the roosts but each brooder-raised and broody-raised batch are different. Until the broody takes them to the roost they sleep under her on the coop floor at night.

My brooder-raised broods are typically around 20 chicks. I have a perch in the brooder for them to play on but they hardy ever sleep on it at night. They tend to sleep in a group on the brooder floor, usually pretty close to the heat even when they are warm enough. They seem to prefer sleeping in a group as if they were under a broody hen as opposed to sleeping scattered around.

My broody hens sleep on the coop floor with their chicks until she takes them to the roost. Some broody hens never take them to the roosts before they wean them, those still sleep on the coop floor by themselves. My brooder-raised chicks sleep on the brooder floor. Those same chicks go to sleep in a group, either on the coop floor or outside in the run until I train them to sleep in the coop, when I move them to the grow-out coop until they decide to sleep on the roosts. Some adults, like some Silkies that can't fly, never roost but prefer to sleep on the coop floor even if low roosts are provided. I fail to see the urgency to get them to roost before they are ready. You can train them to roost earlier but I don't see where that makes their life or yours any better.

I train mine to sleep in the coop for predator protection. I let them train themselves to roost whenever they are ready.

 

[Jdleppo]

Chickens naturally go sleep in the same place every night.

Since they've been in the coop for 3 days already, they may just go in by themselves.

If they do not go in, then yes you can put them in each night until they get it.

Or you can put some extra-tasty treat in the coop during the afternoon, and shut them in. That way they will be in the right place to put themselves to bed.

(For an "extra-tasty treat," I have good results with wet chicken food. It's just water added to the usual pellets or crumbles, but the chickens usually go crazy for it. After a few days, they learn to recognize the bowl I use to serve it, and will follow wherever I carry the bowl.)

Chickens are really smart and easy to train, even easier than dogs. When our chicks were big enough to barely climb up or down to the coop from the run, we helped them up and down to the coop at dusk to show them what to do. We only had to do that two nights. That was 4 years ago, and they all go back into the coop at dusk on their own without any coaxing.
We let them out of the run into our yard around 3:30 (after the hawks stop hunting), to have a larger area to run and to dig for worms and fun stuff. Promptly at dusk, they all head back to the run and up into the coop, then we lock the run up to keep them safe for the night. Early in the morning they come out on their own to the run. We never feed them in the coop, only in the run. But we do keep water out in the yard for when they are out of the run.