Light in the coop?

[ChickTree]

I give them food/water all night. They have it hanging in their coop so can access it all hours.

 

[azygous]

One more question. Do they need food and water through the night?

Do you need food and water all night long? No, you don't. You need to sleep all night, don't you? You wouldn't be a very healthy person if you ate all night and got little sleep. Chickens are designed no differently.

From the time chicks hatch, they are designed to need food during the day time and to sleep when it is night. Because of the "brooder construct", many people have come to believe that since a light is being provided as heat, it is also being provided as a light source so chicks can find their food dish during the night. This is wrong.

Think about a hen who hatches her chicks, keeps them warm as needed, and shows them where to find their food. Does she have a light source strapped to her body lighting up the night so the chicks can eat all night long? You reply, "Don't be ridiculous!" Okay, so let's not, then.

Chicks get all the food their bodies need for proper development without needing to eat at night. Period.

 

[ChickTree]

Azygous-- What do you do with the food/water during the night?

 

[azygous]

If it's dry crumbles you feed, just leave it there. I feed fermented feed, and it gets taken up at night and fresh provided in the morning.

I also live in bear country, and food left overnight in the run is an invitation to bears to take a second look at the chickens, maybe even making them decide it's worth trying to defy the hot wires around the building. It's one more reason on the list, at least where I live, to not feed chickens at night.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Azygous, You seem to have some experience and common sense. Thanks for taking time to answer peoples' questions. It helps all of us.

 

[jeannetteshari]

Do you need food and water all night long? No, you don't. You need to sleep all night, don't you? You wouldn't be a very healthy person if you ate all night and got little sleep. Chickens are designed no differently.

From the time chicks hatch, they are designed to need food during the day time and to sleep when it is night. Because of the "brooder construct", many people have come to believe that since a light is being provided as heat, it is also being provided as a light source so chicks can find their food dish during the night. This is wrong.

Think about a hen who hatches her chicks, keeps them warm as needed, and shows them where to find their food. Does she have a light source strapped to her body lighting up the night so the chicks can eat all night long? You reply, "Don't be ridiculous!" Okay, so let's not, then.

Chicks get all the food their bodies need for proper development without needing to eat at night. Period.

This is what i was thinking. Thank you.

 

[azygous]

Trust your instincts and common sense! They won't let you down!

 

[ejcrist]

I keep a feed trough and water fount in my coop and run but it's mainly for birds that venture into the coop during the day. This way all the gals have access to feed and water regardless of the pecking order. I don't think they need it at night though because they're up on the roost and can't see well in the dark from what I understand. I never noticed the levels in the coop go down between lights-out and sun-up.

 

[ChickTree]

Trust your instincts and common sense! They won't let you down!

Well.. I replaced the flood light with a small night light and put in a card board huddle box. They were loudly chirping! Stressing me out! It's going to dip to 28 tonight. I'm secretly not going to be able to sleep .... Hope I don't wake up to frozen chicken.

 

[azygous]

It's very stressful these stages of development. And it's stressful for the chicks as well. In fact, chickens take chabge much harder than we humans do.

It's permitted to make a night check on them to make sure they're using the huddle box, and to guide them inside if they aren't catching on right away.