Should I leave food and water in the coop for 8-9 week old chicks?

[katienewcomb]

My chicks will be in the coop (and out of the dining room!) for the second night tonight. Yippee! Since they're so young, should I leave food and water in the coop for them? In the house I would sometimes hear them wake up at night. When do I stop feeding them constantly?

Also, I just built a roost in the coop, its about 2 feet off the ground. Will they need a ladder to get on it?

Thank you!

 

[mnferalkitty]

I have food and water 24/7 for my chicks that age. you can add just a brick or something like that near the roost so they can hop on that then hop to the roost, just make sure it is not a brick with a hole in it that they can stick their heads in and get stuck (like a cinder block etc)

 

[teach1rusl]

I have food available in my main (walk-in) coop 24/7, and my birds are three YEARS old...lol. But in my bantam coop, which is more pressed for space, I don't keep it in there. Is there a light in the coop? If not, they most likely won't move around in the dark, at least if it's pretty much pitch black (which it rarely is inside a house), so keeping food in there for midnight snacks wouldn't be needed. Now, if you're late with getting up in the mornings, and you think they'll be up before you, then I'd probably have some available. I'd worry more about water than food myself though...