Feeding late at night instead of early morning?

[Wildsky]

Mine have food and water 24/7 - I throw scratch and sunflower seeds evening and morning.

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

Mine have 24/7 access also. I check their feed and change their water everyday. They also get a morning and a late evening snack. I don't own them, they own me!!!

 

[chrisabney]

I feed mine in the morning and pick up the bowls of remaining food after the sun goes down. But I have a younger pair that never really bonded to the others. They've been accepted (as bottom of the pecking order) but they won't sleep with the others. Because they are last to peck through the bowls, I give them food at around 9:00 or 10:00pm. It is seasonal, in that I give them more starches in the cold weather. Here they are when they first discovered the spot.

Going out now to feed and tack up some wind block around there "nest".

 

[nuthatched]

I feed mine in the morning and pick up the bowls of remaining food after the sun goes down. But I have a younger pair that never really bonded to the others. They've been accepted (as bottom of the pecking order) but they won't sleep with the others. Because they are last to peck through the bowls, I give them food at around 9:00 or 10:00pm. It is seasonal, in that I give them more starches in the cold weather. Here they are when they first discovered the spot.View attachment 4242407
Going out now to feed and tack up some wind block around there "nest".

What cute birds.
Don't give them excessive starch, the "generates heat" thing is a myth and causes fat build up around the organs and heart.

 

[NatJ]

It is seasonal, in that I give them more starches in the cold weather.

If you are just trying to provide extra calories, it doesn't much matter whether you provide starches, fats, or protein. Any of those can work.

If you are specifically considering the heat produced by digestion, protein will generate more heat than starches. When broiler chickens are raised commercially in hot climates, this becomes a big problem because they need the protein to grow, but digesting it makes them even hotter. Because it is important to big companies, it has been studied pretty thoroughly.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

This is an old thread but I was amazed by how many people were providing feed and water "24/7." Chickens do not eat and drink at night in the dark. They are on the roost. They don't see well in the dark. When we open them up in the morning the first thing they all do is guzzle down a big drink of water. They can't eat if they are dehydrated. Keeping water in the coop can cause condensation which, in cold weather, can lead to frostbite of combs, wattles and earlobes. So we don't leave water in the coop at night. We lock food up in the wellhouse to protect it from rats, mice and other predators.

 

[nuthatched]

This is an old thread but I was amazed by how many people were providing feed and water "24/7." Chickens do not eat and drink at night in the dark. They are on the roost. They don't see well in the dark. When we open them up in the morning the first thing they all do is guzzle down a big drink of water. They can't eat if they are dehydrated. Keeping water in the coop can cause condensation which, in cold weather, can lead to frostbite of combs, wattles and earlobes. So we don't leave water in the coop at night. We lock food up in the wellhouse to protect it from rats, mice and other predators.

I keep food and water available 24/7 because they get up before I do, my work hours (and I imagine most people's) don't allow for more precise feeding schedule and keeps the elk, wold birds and pigs out of it.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I keep food and water available 24/7 because they get up before I do, my work hours (and I imagine most people's) don't allow for more precise feeding schedule and keeps the elk, wold birds and pigs out of it.

Ah. Makes sense.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

DH works a regular 8-4:30 schedule. He opens them up in the morning, sets out feeders and water buckets, reverses the process at sunset. Not everybody can do that but it works for us.

 

[alwaystj9]

I let mine out to the pasture every morning but only feed in the evening. They do go in and out of the coop all day and have water 24/7 but I lock them out in late afternoon. That way I can fill hanging feeders, top off oyster shell, gather eggs, do small rearrangements & repairs safely and without their help. I let them in about half an hour before dusk and they all chow down, guzzle some water and go to bed.