Feeding times

[zoruagalaxy]

My chicks are going to be able to live outside soon , should i leave both food and water out for my chickens in their coop during the night? we have had some rats come from time to time. A opposum i saw a year ago and we also have lots of squirrels in my neighborhood. I heard thats when preditors mainly come out to feed. And how many times a day should you feed them?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi, welcome to BYC. I leave food in my coop all day because I have better things to do than feed my chickens several times a day. I also leave it in the coop at night because the coop is predator proof and that's the safest place for it. It's an 8x10 walk-in hen house. But chickens don't eat or drink in the dark so if it works better for you to remove the food and water at dusk and put it back in the morning, then by all means do that. Whatever works for you is fine, but remember that in nature, chickens are foragers and will pretty much eat all day, pecking and scratching for whatever they can find. That's why I keep their food available all day so they can help themselves. They also need granite grit available at all times for digestion, and your layers need oyster shell available to make good egg shells. Have fun and enjoy your flock!

 

[wyochick10]

Hi! Welcome to BYC you will find a lot of great advice here! I keep food and water available to my flock 24/7 but I don’t have a rat problem (knock on wood!) However, chickens don’t eat or drink at night so I would say put it out in the morning and take it up when they go to bed at night.

 

[zoruagalaxy]

Hi, welcome to BYC. I leave food in my coop all day because I have better things to do than feed my chickens several times a day. I also leave it in the coop at night because the coop is predator proof and that's the safest place for it. It's an 8x10 walk-in hen house. But chickens don't eat or drink in the dark so if it works better for you to remove the food and water at dusk and put it back in the morning, then by all means do that. Whatever works for you is fine, but remember that in nature, chickens are foragers and will pretty much eat all day, pecking and scratching for whatever they can find. That's why I keep their food available all day so they can help themselves. They also need granite grit available at all times for digestion, and your layers need oyster shell available to make good egg shells. Have fun and enjoy your flock!

thank you ^.^

 

[K0k0shka]

Chickens need to have food available all day, not be fed a set number of times. That's because they can't eat a large amount at a time, but rather they eat throughout the day, little bits at a time here and there. Both because of their natural feeding habits (foragers) and because of their anatomy.

I keep my feeder in the coop and my waterer in the run. My coop is predator proof against all animals, including rodents, so that's where the food is the safest. My run is safe from the bigger predators, but mice can get in, so I don't leave food there. If you're worried about rodents, take the food away at night and bring it back in the morning, but if your coop is safe once locked, you can just leave it in there. If it's out of sight inside the coop, it won't tempt the animals that can get into the run. Birds, squirrels and mice can get into my run, but they'd have to go inside the coop to find food, which is more effort and more danger for them, so they usually don't dare. I've only had squirrels go inside the coop for food once. One squirrel first, and then it taught the other. It was a deadly mistake on their part. Once they are in, all you have to do is close the pop door and... you have the best squirrel trap

 

[Vicky Ann Painting]

I found a couple of mice in our coop, so we cleaned it all down with vinegar water, changed the bedding, and I sprayed a mixture of mint extract, cayenne pepper, lemongrass goat soap, and water around the outside perimeter of the yard fence (untouchable to the chickens). If you have fresh mint leaves you can place some in the coop. The chickens will eat the leaves and the mice/rats are said to hate the smell. So far so good. Have not seen anymore! God willing they will stay away.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I found a couple of mice in our coop, so we cleaned it all down with vinegar water, changed the bedding, and I sprayed a mixture of mint extract, cayenne pepper, lemongrass goat soap, and water around the outside perimeter of the yard fence (untouchable to the chickens). If you have fresh mint leaves you can place some in the coop. The chickens will eat the leaves and the mice/rats are said to hate the smell. So far so good. Have not seen anymore! God willing they will stay away.

Nice to know! I have a mint garden, now I know what to do with all that mint!