Lights out on 7 wk olds...

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

They will be fine

Chickens can’t see in the dark, so when it gets darker, they instinctively look for a safe place to retire for the night. Young chooks also likes to huddle puddle. Mine learn to return to the coop as young as 3 weeks old, but wont use the roost until quite a while later.

They’ll do fine with less food, as they get used to the new routine, they will pace their food intake accordingly. More isn’t always better either. I remember reading a study that showed chickens to live longer when they were given a controlled portion vs being fed buffet style.

Good to know...I'll adjust n stop fretting lol.

 

[yakitori]

Good to know...I'll adjust n stop fretting lol.

Fretting is normal! I remember my first time raising chicks, I was such a helicopter mom I considered moving the brooder into my bedroom so I can check on the chicks every waking moment!
The upside is that these chickens are fairly tame and don’t fuss when picked up.

Compare with my latest chicks, which I let my broody raise and was maximum hands off (I don’t even remember how old they are at this point). They are absolutely terrified of me. lol

 

[DonyaQuick]

My question is will they be ok all night after eating warm Mash and NOT drinking their water cuz I doubt they venture back over in the dark to opposite side of coop to grab some water before going to sleep.

Mash has extra water added right? That would likely decrease the need for an extra sip of water. If you're worried about them chugging dry food at night and then not drinking, just get another light source (flashlight, phone, etc.) and briefly illuminate a container of water by hand or shine it on the waterer if it's in the coop. If they're really thirsty they'll be motivated to go get it as soon as they can see it. I offered a small bowl of water by dim light nightly when I was trying to wean mine off of having a waterer in the coop to make sure nobody went to sleep with food stuck in their throat. The thirsty ones would always drink up right away and it did teach them pretty quickly to go get a drink from their regular outside water before they go to bed. They all still take a last drink like clockwork before going to roost, whether they're being good chickens and going in the coop or naughty and roosting elsewhere.