Food/Water in Coop

[mpc]

I have 6 RIR's that are 8 weeks old. I keep them in a coop and an enclosed run. During the day I have been leaving their water and feed in the run and have been putting the water and feed inside the coop when I lock it up at night.

Is it necessary to contine providing food and water insed the coop at night? Should I just leave it in the run?

 

[doodledo]

Good question. I too would like to know. Also on the run. I thought they always needed fresh grass and such. But almost every run I have seen looks to be dirt. Do you know anything about this?

 

[MayberrySaint]

I keep my food & water in the coop at all times. That way if I want to sleep in the flock isn't deprived of anything. It also keeps wild birds out of the food and water. I do keep supplemental waterer outside while they are free-ranging.
Grass isn't necessary for hens but if they have access to grass and weeds, they will probably be happier. You could let your girls out of the run to free-range occasionally if you want them to have access to greens. Otherwise, your only option would be to throw grass clippings into the run.

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

Ours eat more at night(or evening) than during the day. so we give them access 24/7.
I'm not sure if they need fresh grass but they sure do like it. I think thats why when you see pictures of runs they look like dirt. we just opened up our girls into a larger run and within 24 hours EVERY single blade of grass was eaten. When ever I mow the lawn (use a mulching blade, only give them short peices or they can get an impacted craw) I'll give them a couple of hand fulls.

 

[4myHennyPenny]

Quote:
See, this is just the type of thing that I never would have thought of and that freaks me out! How do you find out about all of these things? Just keep reading all of the posts? I'm not done yet... What would you consider a short piece to be? And for 3-4 hens, how much is too much (still a couple of handfuls?)?

Thank you, thank you, AK-Bird-brain and whomever else responds!

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

Mrs. AKBB here (we share the same account)... We try to keep the grass only a couple of inches long, otherwise they get the long grass all wound up in their crop and it can be hard to digest. I think we read it somewhere that it's better for them to be able to break off the grass themselves, but when you can't let them free-range (dogs, bears...) this is the easiest way we've found to treat them. Just be sure not to give them grass that's just been fertilized or sprayed for bugs. I've asked my DH to keep one section of the lawn free and clear of chemicals just for the girls.

Just keep reading the posts... there's a ton of helpful hints out there!
Cheers!

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

I hand-raised Bo and the Production Reds, and now they live in their "temporary" hoop tractor (haven't had time to make something more permanent for them!).

When I come home from work, I let the dogs out for about 20 minutes, then put them back inside and let the pullets out for about 20 minutes. During that time, I am generally puttering around the yard, weeding, watering, filling their water, etc, and they normally stay pretty close by me. When I get ready to put them back in their tractor, I grab a handful of scratch and they come running!!! I don't even have to call them; they keep a pretty close eye on what I'm doing!

We've been doing this routine for about a month now; they are 4 months old, so hopefully, this is something we'll be able to continue without them deciding to fly out of the back yard. I think that 20 minutes gives them pretty good access to a wide variety of bugs and greens, without it tearing up the yard too badly.