no food and water in box at night? is it safe?

[lexi f]

i have chicks that are about a week and a half old right now. they poop a LOT which is to be expected, but my mother suggested taking the food and water out of their box at night so they wont poop when i'm not awake to clean it. i looked it up and most of the people who asked had chicks who are older than mine, so im still not sure. is it safe for the chicks to not have access to food and water at night? or are they too young? any help or advice is appreciated!!

 

[ShannonsChimkens]

The chicks eat throughout the day and store food/water. Even if their food wasn’t in there, they would still be digesting and pooping for a few hours.

Generally, when it’s dark they don’t eat or drink. If you have a red heat lamp, maybe try a ceramic heat emitter/bulb (better yet a brooder plate). That way they still have heat, just no light at night.

They’re pretty messy either way

 

[AquaDuck]

You could take out the food and leave the water. Water is important for digesting the food, so they might wanna take a sip even if they haven't eaten in a while.

 

[Shezadandy]

Look into using something like a "momma heating pad" set up. The benefits include that the chicks sleep all night in the dark just like they would with a momma hen. If they've been under a lamp, it might take a little adjustment, but they much prefer it.

When I've brought feed store chicks home that have been under lamps all their lives, usually they go under the MHP and crash HARD. Like I woke them up to make sure they were alive because they were so exhausted from being under lights 24/7. And you use FAR less electricity.

I just change the water/food out after dark so it's ready in the AM...

All you need is a heating pad that will stay on 24/7 (not a model that turns itself off after 2 hrs, or one where you can disable the "auto-off") - if there's an old one around your house it probably isn't auto-off, but plug it in and check after 4 hrs first.... - and something to stretch the heating pad over. I used 2 of those frames meant for foil/saran wrap and bent the bottom down. Chicks that want more heat go to the lower end, chicks that want less heat hang out at the higher end. Make sure the sides and front are open so there's always an escape route.

Mine is: frame, washcloth. Then I put my heating pad in an old pillowcase, put the heating pad over the first frame and washcloth. Then I put the 2nd frame over the top of the heating pad- and use old hand towels for the very top (they will jump on top to stay warm too- and yes, they will poop)

Underneath for overnight I keep 3 layers of paper towels (all the poop from overnight is on these paper towels) - easy to remove and throw away.

In the pictures my washcloth layers are missing - I redid it later. This is an example of the rack:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Evelots-...chen-Cabinet-Door-Wall-New-Improved/461736637

 

[lexi f]

update: glad to say that theyre completely fine, pooping has slowed down at night and more sleeping is happening. thank you everyone for the advice!! sorry if im asking some of the basic stuff but the help is still rlly appreciated :,D