Food and Water in the Roost

[dsbailey70]

I also put this in the coop/run design forum just in case. I'm starting to use PDZ today, and am making a few changes. Instead of shavings in the pull-out roost pan, I'm going to only use PDZ. The nesting boxes will stay with shavings, maybe some PDZ under them. The run will most likely still be deep shavings, with some PDZ under them. Until now, I've put food/water in the roost, and sometimes down in the run too. It seems like it may be a big mess to continue doing that. Should I only be putting food/water down in the run? The roost is behind the little window, and the run is below that.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The chickens won't eat or drink at night so if your birds are out early, just keeping those things in the run may be better.
I keep food in the coop to limit wild birds. Water outside to limit humidity in the coop.

 

[dsbailey70]

Ok that sounds good, thank you. I was just thinking, is it ok to only use PDZ in the roost/poop pan, or should I keep using shavings too?

 

[jtn42248]

While I have never heard of PDZ prior to this thread it did prompt me to do a little research and I think I will begin using it with my birds. I have 24 chickens, 22 ducks, 3 geese. I do leave water for them inside their coops at night because I do not let them out until there is daylight (many of our predators are most active in the early hours prior to dawn and the birds usually are stirring about beginning about 4 a.m.) and I don't want them to go without water for too long a period of time. I know that when I let the ducks out they all but fly to the nearest water even though they have water in their coops.

So, yes I do have water in the coop and in the run but no food in the coop unless the weather provokes it.

For others who may not have heard of PDZ like me I thought at first it was just a deodorizer. What it does is (and this is the simplistic description) absorbs the ammonia and locks it into the PDZ crystals which is why you can just add more PDZ without removing the soiled PDZ that is already there. I will actually remove the old though before adding new. So, it is not only getting rid of the ammonia odor but actually removing the ammonia.

Anyway, I am going to at least give it a try...it is pretty cheap, about 10 bucks for 40 pounds at Tractor Supply...in the horse stuff. And it is safe for chickens to actually eat if they do and evidently serves much the same purpose as grit.

 

[dsbailey70]

My roost and runs are all connected, and the roost has an internal door. But I don't shut them in at night. In the evenings, I usually let them stay wherever they want to until after dark, then I encourage them to walk up the ramp into the roost. In the morning, they go down into the runs whenever they want to. I let them out to forage, but only when I'm home and can monitor them. There's a red tail hawk around here, and I am not taking any chances.