My 3 barred rocks are now 8 weeks old, and have been living full time in their coop & run for 2 weeks now. Even though the run is predator proof, I've been locking the girls inside their coop at night. (Don't worry, they had a heater for the first week or so). I have a min-max thermometer, so I know it doesn't get too cold.
It's only been 3 or 4 nights now that the girls put themselves to bed, and I come out and close the hatch between the coop & the run. I open it up again around 9am.
It took 1.5 weeks for them to figure out this whole business of going into the coop for the night. At first, we thought they didn't like the coop because I only keep water in there, but not any food. So I put in the small 1 qt feeder inside the coop. Now they they've settled into a good routine, do I still need to keep food in there? Or, can they go without food from dusk until morning. If they do need food, I need to come up with something that's not so easily knocked over.
Thanks for the advice.
It's only been 3 or 4 nights now that the girls put themselves to bed, and I come out and close the hatch between the coop & the run. I open it up again around 9am.
It took 1.5 weeks for them to figure out this whole business of going into the coop for the night. At first, we thought they didn't like the coop because I only keep water in there, but not any food. So I put in the small 1 qt feeder inside the coop. Now they they've settled into a good routine, do I still need to keep food in there? Or, can they go without food from dusk until morning. If they do need food, I need to come up with something that's not so easily knocked over.
Thanks for the advice.