Do you keep food available inside your hen house?

[EmmaDonovan]

If you have a separate area where your chickens are shut in at night, do you keep food in there with them?

 

[wrathsfarm]

Some do keep water and feed in their coops. Others don't that worry about humidity issues especially causing frost bite during winter cold freezing temps. Chickens don't get down from roost at night to eat or drink.
I myself leave feed and water in my coops. I don't let them out until 9-10 am and my coops are in my pole barn.

 

[Evadig]

I do because some mornings I don't get out there until later in the day. I don't have a normal coop, though, it's really just a large run, divided into sections, each with a perching area/nesting box. I also have a prefab coop/run and those residents get food/water in there 24/7 as well (in the run area).

 

[EmmaDonovan]

Ours is a run, too. We had to put off building a proper coop until fall, when the hell months have passed and we can return to doing stuff outdoors.

It's a long run against a fence, about 180 sq ft. They have food and water in the run. The outdoor brooder is at one end of the run. That's functioning as a hen house with a pop door.

It's predator proof and in a sheltered location with shade so it gives them good protection against the summer storms which can be violent.

They need water in the brooder/henhouse because it's hot at night here during the summer. I don't want to cut them off from water all night. The waterer is mounted on the wall so they can't turn it over or dump it.

We're doing deep litter with 10" of pine shavings. They grew up with food in there and they like to kick up the pine shavings looking for grain. That's a natural chicken thing to do of course but we're trying to keep it to a minimum because they keep filling up the water cups and then they run out of water.

We cleaned out the brooder and replaced all the litter with fresh so there shouldn't be any more grain to find. I might try getting them a nipple waterer instead.

Is it tough for them to transition to a nipple waterer after only having water cups, or do they figure it out on their own?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Yes, we have a big rubber trash bin with feeding ports that has feed in it. I know the chickens don't eat at night but sometimes we don't get out to let them out right at first light, especially in the summer. So they can eat if they want to in the early morning while waiting for us. We're not usually too late after sunrise, though, so when we open the doors they come out and get a good drink right away from the bucket beside the door.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't overnight because I don't want to attract rodents. They'll live without food until the next morning.

 

[EddieSalita]

There is no food or water in the coop. Just roosts and nesting boxes. The door opens before first light and closes after dark. So they have constant acess to their free range area. There is room for it, but yuck. The only thing in their coop is their shell grit. It only needs attending every few months,

 

[Shadrach]

I don't keep feed in the coop. I do leave food in the run overnight because I'm not there to feed them in the mornings. They have an automatic door which opens in the morning.
There is an exception to this and that's when a broody is hatching chicks.
I leave chick feed in the coop for the first week or so.
I have tried leaving feed in the coop in the past and it attracted rodents.

 

[Sally PB]

I have a bowl of food in the coop during the day, and two others in the run. No water in the coop. The bowl in the coop is the least popular; it's never empty by end of day.

I don't leave any food or water out overnight, as I don't want to attract rodents.

 

[aart]

I have always kept feed and water in the coop 24/7.
Works for me.