need water at night?

[bibliophile birds]

my 7 week old chicks spent their first night in the coop last night (a ton of bad weather kept if from getting finished sooner). i was a nervous wreck! i worried about every single thing that could happen, except perhaps the obvious. i didn't think to put a waterer in the coop with them... do they need one? i feel like they wouldn't really be able to see it in the dark anyway. i don't like the idea of them being up that long without water, but if they can't get to it, i don't want to waste the money and space on another waterer.

 

[kcravey]

hmmm good question! I have a baby outdoor coop that they can go down to get water if they need to - but they dont until the sun is out.

7 weeks is pretty hardy...if you are letting them out first thing in the morning, I would think it is ok.

 

[bibliophile birds]

Quote:
they went up about 7 pm and i let them out at 7 this morning (which is the only reason i'm up this early! i hate mornings. so naturally, i get chickens). that just seems like an eternity without water for them, but they obviously weren't dying of thirst this morning: they bypassed the water on the way to FEED! what pigs!

 

[lceh]

My daughter's girls have a feeder in the henhouse (to keep it out of the weather), but their water is in the run. We lock them up in the henhouse at night and they seem to do just fine without a waterer. They do like to have a drink when they first come out of the house, though.