No Food and water at night?

[fordmommy]

I put food and water out at all times. My water dish is a tub feeding bowl that holds a gallon of water. I got it from Fleet Farm for $2 something. It works great. They don't poop in it. I change the water once a day and add Organic Apple Cider Vineger.(which was literally a lifesaver for me) Plus it keeps the algie from growing. No problems with pests.

 

[NellaBean]

I keep water in my coop and run, but food outside only. Keeps the mess in the coop waaaaay down. I have a table in there along the wall and so I just have a 1 gallon hanging waterer hanging from the underside of the table. It keeps it "out of the way" and it stays clean.

I do notice that with 9 chickens in there at night only (I let them out at 7am usually), 1 gallon of water can last for a week or two. They don't drink much in there. They march right out to the feeder every morning, but at the most they are only without food an hour? I went out at 6:20 one day and they were all still sitting on the roosts. Lately they have all been dust bathing in the shavings when I go in. They can wait a half hour to eat outside....

 

[muddipuppy]

The apple cider vinegar doesn't bother the chickens? how much do you put in?

 

[Sissy]

At 6 in the evening I give my gang
fresh water and feed and if they like to snack during the night. thats fine with me. I never knew of any thing wrong
with midnight snacks. all feed and water is inside. and they get fresh greens out in their runs. as I dont free range them.
I use ACV in a gal. of water.

 

[GrannySue]

I have never left food or water overnight with my chickens. Most of them were at point of lay when they came here. They run their schedule with the daylight and go into the house at night, up onto their roosts. In mid-winter that can be as early as 4:30.
The latest I've ever let them out of the house is 8:30 - once, I was sick. They're outside all day, no matter what the weather is.
Oh, I just remembered our big blizzard last winter. I did feed them inside for a few days then. It was easier than trying to shift the snow. But I removed food and water each night.

 

[codybird]

I have water in the coop at night, but the feed is outside.

I put the feeder in the coop for a while. They only ate about 1 cup of feed in two weeks. Not worth the trouble and they are fine.

My six hens are about 18 weeks old. I let them out about 6:30 every AM.

 

[trilyn]

I use 2 tablespoons of ACV per gallon of water. You can check out my byc page for pics of the milk jug waterer with the nipple that mayden was talking about. It works awesome, no drips and no mess. I also feed my birds free choice, it is much easier and they are not like dogs-they will stop when they don't want anymore.

ETA-I have found that hanging feeders hung to the height of their backs goes along way in eliminating feed waste. They are not able to scratch the feed out and spill it all over the ground. If you are able to feed pellets, even better! They'll scratch around for the few that don't make it into their mouths the first time, no waste. Good luck!!

 

[dustbath]

I leave the water in all the time and remove the food when it gets dark, to try to avoid attracting rodents.

If someone is sick, I might leave the food overnight.

 

[cmom]

I have two feeders and waterers for my birds. One of each in their coop and also in their run available for them 24/7.

 

[redhen]

I think they really need to have access to water 24/7. Food..well..as long as you put it out for them early in the a.m. and let them eat all day long it should be no problem to pick up the food at night. Mine have water and feed 24/7 though..