Our old little coop had no real distinction between the coop and run, so they had access to food and water 24/7. However the new coop has a chicken door leading into the run that gets locked for security every night. I let them go in at their leisure when it's getting dark, and then open the door every morning prior to 7am. I have no food in the coop, but I do have water. I placed a waterer in one of the 3 laying boxes. They either are not using it, or using so little during that period that it barely shows on the water level. Of course, most of that time they are asleep and it's dark.
I'm wondering what everyone else does? I remember reading someone's post a week or so ago that having food inside the actual coop where they sleep could be a security problem, due to the smell of the food attracting predators, though the coop is a fortress. They file out calmly in the morning and proceed to eat and drink for a bit, but it certainly doesn't seem like they are ravenously hungry or anything. I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing...
I'm wondering what everyone else does? I remember reading someone's post a week or so ago that having food inside the actual coop where they sleep could be a security problem, due to the smell of the food attracting predators, though the coop is a fortress. They file out calmly in the morning and proceed to eat and drink for a bit, but it certainly doesn't seem like they are ravenously hungry or anything. I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing...
