no food in the coop?

[johari]

Can i not put food in my chicken/duck coop and only have it available outside? And if i can, how old do my chicks and ducklings have to be if i do this?

 

[Hotspurious]

Why don't you want food in the coop?

 

[LovedMyAlydar]

My guess would be to keep out scavengers? I don't know, I have never had issues with putting it in the coop. There are days in the winter they never want to leave the coop.

 

[Hotspurious]

I just know that my pullets continue to eat after hours. Wouldn't not having food for them in the
evenings once confined to their coop be suboptimal? I can't say for sure. Maybe a "backyard
chickens lifer" could provide perspective?

I've also designed our coop to allow food and waste to drop through and out of the coop itself. In
this way I shouldn't have food scattered across the coop floor. Understandably, there's a tradeoff
there with spillage (which the chickens apparently enjoy doing...)

Johari, do you have predator or scavenger (i.e. rat, mouse, etc...) issues?

 

[Den in Penn]

You don't need to have food in the coop. When they roost at night they are not eating. If you do not have food in the coop you will need to be sure to allow them access to it as soon as you can when it gets light. How old to leave them without food over night is the same time as they are not under the heat lamp anymore. The heat lamp creates a lighted environment where they can be up and active at anytime.