Feeding schedule and questions

[deegee68]

Hello Everyone,

I have a question regarding my new girls. They are 6 weeks old and in their coop/run already. For the last couple of weeks, they have been good girls and walk into their coop for the night and I then close them in. I do not have food or water in the coop. I wake up at 6 am and let them out, and they immediately run out, grab a bite and drink and then go back into coop for a while.

So my first question is, is this ok? They seem to be doing well, but watching them run out to eat makes me think that they are starving come morning.

The second part of my post is I recently went to one of the 5 gallon bucket feeder with the 90 degree elbow and I have one hole (3 girls). Today was the first day that I had it and when they woke up they came running out of coop and basically tried to all eat at same time but that wasn't working. After the initial traffic jam, they settled down and have all came to feeder at separate times. Do I need to worry about them at the first feeding or will they figure it out?

Thanks for all the help

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Hello Everyone,

I have a question regarding my new girls. They are 6 weeks old and in their coop/run already. For the last couple of weeks, they have been good girls and walk into their coop for the night and I then close them in. I do not have food or water in the coop. I wake up at 6 am and let them out, and they immediately run out, grab a bite and drink and then go back into coop for a while.

So my first question is, is this ok? They seem to be doing well, but watching them run out to eat makes me think that they are starving come morning.

The second part of my post is I recently went to one of the 5 gallon bucket feeder with the 90 degree elbow and I have one hole (3 girls). Today was the first day that I had it and when they woke up they came running out of coop and basically tried to all eat at same time but that wasn't working. After the initial traffic jam, they settled down and have all came to feeder at separate times. Do I need to worry about them at the first feeding or will they figure it out?

Thanks for all the help

They are fine - they are not "starving" - they are simply normal chickens who have spent the night digesting the food that they filled their crops with prior to going to roost and are now giving their crop that first fill of the day. Even if you did put food and water in the coop, they would have that same hunger in the morning because a bird at roost stays at roost until the time they get up and about for the day - they would not eat in the overnight hours whether the food was in the coop or not. You are letting them out plenty early to avoid there being any issue regarding having food and water outside only.
They will sort out who eats first - generally by pecking order - again, not anything to be overly worried about. The first bird will get her fill and move on allowing the next in line to fill up. You could add another hole or two, but there is no absolute "need" to do so.

 

[SClaire]

Hello Everyone,

I have a question regarding my new girls. They are 6 weeks old and in their coop/run already. For the last couple of weeks, they have been good girls and walk into their coop for the night and I then close them in. I do not have food or water in the coop. I wake up at 6 am and let them out, and they immediately run out, grab a bite and drink and then go back into coop for a while.

So my first question is, is this ok? They seem to be doing well, but watching them run out to eat makes me think that they are starving come morning.

The second part of my post is I recently went to one of the 5 gallon bucket feeder with the 90 degree elbow and I have one hole (3 girls). Today was the first day that I had it and when they woke up they came running out of coop and basically tried to all eat at same time but that wasn't working. After the initial traffic jam, they settled down and have all came to feeder at separate times. Do I need to worry about them at the first feeding or will they figure it out?

Thanks for all the help

It doesn't sound like they are starving. Are you following the recommended portion sizes on the packages... ?

Our girls always run out at breakneck speed to get feed and they are certainly on the 'chunkier'' side

 

[K1Chickies]

Hey All!

I read somewhere that it's better to regulate how much they are getting and getting them into a routine of eating twice a day (providing feed in the morning and then at night)? Our three "girls" will be moving into their coop this weekend, and we've been providing consistent feed for them... But we're wondering if we should start cutting back? Our chickens are HUGE compared to the little chicks that we brought home... And they appear to be quite happy and healthy apart from waiting for some new digs to run around in...

What are your thoughts on feeding?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Hey All!

I read somewhere that it's better to regulate how much they are getting and getting them into a routine of eating twice a day (providing feed in the morning and then at night)? Our three "girls" will be moving into their coop this weekend, and we've been providing consistent feed for them... But we're wondering if we should start cutting back? Our chickens are HUGE compared to the little chicks that we brought home... And they appear to be quite happy and healthy apart from waiting for some new digs to run around in...

What are your thoughts on feeding?

I free feed - always have, probably always will.

 

[SClaire]

I free feed - always have, probably always will.

What does free feed mean? Just feeding them without a trough?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

What does free feed mean? Just feeding them without a trough?

Sorry - free feed means that feed is available in their feeder 24/7/365 and the birds are able to eat it "freely" anytime they wish -- as opposed to having set feed times at which one would go out and put a specific amount of feed into the feeder to be consumed at that specific time by the birds with no additional food being given until the next scheduled feeding time.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

We free--feed as well.

 

[Irishsilk]

We feed ad lib too.
When the chickens came it was manic at feeding time...the bossy and greedy were well fed, but I worried whether they all got a proper amount as individuals.
By having their container constantly full I know they are all ok.
I leave their food and water in their coop 24/7.
It's interesting to see how they peck away during the day when they want it.
Also means I don't have to worry if I'm not around at a certain time for feeding.

 

[K1Chickies]

That's what we've been doing in their brooder box... Figure it's a good way to make sure they're all getting fed at some point... They seem to be sharing for the moment. Just hoping they don't get too fat....