FOOD IN THE COOP

[SnowPeeOstrichU]

I have a feeder that is in the coop 24/7 except for when I am re-filling it or when the coop is being moved, but then it is put back in the coop. We have no problem with rodents or any other animals. If they wanted to get in, they would have to dig under the edge of the coop or be really good at gnawing threw wood and 1/4 inch poultry cloth. My hens don't spill too much feed except for when they are using the little one in the broody-breaker that fits inside the regular coop.

 

[Donna Lynn]

We have three pullets and getting ready to put them out in an "A" frame coop we have built. I have tried very hard to think of anything that might secure the coop. Small hardware cloth around the bottom of the "A" for a run secured with very long staples and stapled very close together. DH doesn't think we need so many staples but I'm doing it anyway. I know for a fact we have small rats that run along our privacy fence, I see them getting in to my bird feeds. I have way too many squirrels (rats with a bushy tail) that rob bird feeders and I'm hoping that's all the rodents I have to deal with.

The coop where they will sleep and lay is the top part of the "A" frame. It is also as secure as I think we can get it. The venting windows are covered in hardware cloth and tightly stapled. The doors have no more room than it takes to securely shut them with tight animal proofs hooks and of course, the door down to the run will be tightly closed at night.

Is there anything else I can do? Thanks! Donna

 

[Joe.G]

Donna try to start a post qbout your coop, you will get more replies.

 

[KristinLLB]

No food or water in my coop. But it's tiny and they're only in there to lay or sleep.

Is it good to have food/water in the coop? It's not bad, but if they're not using it, it's not necessary either.

My hen house is tiny (I only have 3 hens). When I let them out in the morning to free-range our back yard, I put a bowl of food in their tractor. I don't want any rodents to even think about getting in my hen house, so I never put food in the house itself.

At dusk, the ladies put themselves to bed in the henhouse, and I shut the door. I pick up the food that they didn't eat so there is NO food out there to attract any mousies.

They seem content with this arrangement. No complaints!

 

[BeulahBreezes]

x's 2 to Kristin's reply!

 

[Donna Lynn]

Ok, thanks, I'm new and I'm trying to learn how to do this and where to do this!

 

[EMcD]

If you don't have food in the coop, do you all have covered runs outside? We keep the feeder in the coop (there's room for it) in case of rain or bad weather. We don't want to risk mold in the feed or just wasting it.

The waterer is out in the run (we don't want extra moisture in the coop itself.

Or do you take the feed in from the run if it rains?

But even if they don't eat overnight, we keep it inside just to protect the feed. We've not had any evidence at all of rodents, in or out of the coop, other than a mole in the yard that I'm happy for the hens to get while they free range a couple hours a day.

We don't get out to let them out of the coop early enough for a daybreak breakfast. So I guess at least they can eat as early as they want to.

Thanks to everyone on these forums. I have not posted much, but I've learned so much since we started our chicken adventure in March. In fact, it was a lot of the information on this site that made us realize we could do this!