FOOD IN THE COOP

[Joe.G]

I leave my food in the coop, I haven't seen any mice inside the coop,I did find a dead mouse outside of the coop.

 

[galanie]

Thing about mice is, they are pretty quick and sneaky. I rarely see one but I know they are there. You see there's this suspicious hole back there that I backfill from time to time. Funny how it always ends up open again.

 

[Tivona]

From my experience birds will nibble (chickens less so and ducks more so) a bit during the night particularly during full moons or when its light. They will hit the food as soon as dawn starts lighting up the sky no matter how early that is (5:30 for the first of summer).

However... I stopped leaving feed in the coop due to rodents. I do leave a few handfuls of fresh grass for them to nibble and now keep the actual feed only available during the day. The grass keeps the birds happy if they do get hungry during the night or if I don't let them out quite fast enough in the morning without any rodents being attracted.

 

[Sunnysimplelife]

This sounds like what I may do. I don't want to attract mice or rats into the coop and our weather is mild here.

 

[av8rwife]

We definately have mice in our coop/run. See the holes, plug them up and wala -- another one/two are made! I was thinking it was a snake or something until I saw the little buggers. We also found a black snake in the coop last weekend. I too leave my food in there 24/7 so I guess I need to figure out another solution. Our chickens are at the land and we live about 20 minutes away and go there almost everyday. That is the reason I feel the need to keep the food/water in the coop. I noticed that a few of my hens were beginning to have bare backs and thought it was from the roosters (i have 6 hens old enough to lay and 1 roo taking care of them) but I also have 4 more roos in the wings. SOOOOOO maybe its the mice that are eating the feathers off my girls at night. Sounds kinda weird that they would just sit there and not make a sound/move. I also wondered if they were moulting but I haven't seen a profusion of feathers in the coop. ARGHHHHH..................

 

[joan1708]

av8rwife. you might consider one of the treadle feeders that are supposed to keep mice/rats out of the feeder. There is a guy on this website http://www.thecarpentershop.net that makes them at a much better price than most other on-line options. That and some steel wool and caulk in the holes.

 

[av8rwife]

That's an interesting contraption. We hang out feeders from the rafters. I'm not sure that plugging the holes will work. They are digging under the rock that we have placed around the perimeter (predator proofing) and coming through the ground. I'm thinking of trying to set mice traps. I know of no other way to get rid of them.

 

[Sunnysimplelife]

I am a total newbie so this may sound silly but do the chickens need to have food in the coop at night. Since we only have four and I can put food back in in the morning, couldn't I take it out at night to cut down on pests?

 

[galanie]

Yes, you can. They don't need it at night at all. But you have to get it back in there as soon after daybreak as possible.

 

[Tivona]

I am a total newbie so this may sound silly but do the chickens need to have food in the coop at night. Since we only have four and I can put food back in in the morning, couldn't I take it out at night to cut down on pests?

Hi Sunny!

Its not really necessary for them to have food at night. Chickens don't eat much when its dark and many don't leave food out for the very reason you mentioned. Pests get more food when its dark. I used to leave food in the coop but I had rodents getting in so now I just toss in some grass at night to keep them happy, with feed available only during the day. My birds did object at first but are now in tune with the schedule. Just keep in mind they do like an early breakfast, so try to get them their feed as soon as possible in the morning. But just as people like eating meals at different times and different number of meals per day so birds can adjust as long as they have enough feed available in the course of a day.