Waterer Inside the Coop at Night????

[Dora'smom]

We keep both available at all times. Our waterer is sitting on a little platform of bricks in a corner of one coop, and my husband built a wooden platform with a lip around it in the other one. I know that often enough, they are up and hungry or thirsty before I'm out there, so this keeps them from eating each other.

 

[Ohhhdear]

I don't have much room in my coop for anything more than my chickens. They free range and are outside 99% of the day. Once they're out, they don't return to the coop to roost until it's full dark. But I don't always get up at the crack of dawn to let them out, so I have one of those quart jar feeders from TSC with laying crumbles in the coop on the floor right now. I'm looking for a wall mounted dispenser for feed.

I have a quart jar waterer from TSC I could use in the coop, but again, it'd be on the floor and subject to poop and tipping over and making a huge mess of the bedding. I did put it in the coop in the summer when it was so dreadfully hot. But I don't want wet messy bedding in the winter! Plus water freezes here in the winter (yay Michigan!

) I'm going to use the cookie-tin water heater underneath their 2 gallon waterer for their main water source outside.

My father in law (who raised hundreds of chickens in years past) told me chickens sleep very very deeply at night and don't wake up for "midnight snacks".

 

[MakNugget]

24/7.

It also depends on how well lit the coop is. If it's too dark for them to navigate I imagine they probably would not eat/drink. My coop has a light on a timer so they are active before me in the morning and after I close them up for some time. Both water and feed is low profile wall mounted units, and I have a secondary inverted waterer raised high on bricks for a secondary source. That waterer I change 2-3 times a day.

 

[woodmort]

Quote:
Ditto since day one. In fact, I don't do food outside at all--attracts wild birds and predators.

 

[speckledhen]

Lately, we've been raising the feeders up at night because they really don't need to be chowing down at 3 a.m., and trust me, they will if they have enough light to see by--we hear them on the baby monitor in the coop. I would never, ever remove water from their coop, though. Chickens are huge water drinkers. If mine really are starving (hardly likely), they will probably find plenty of spilled feed in the under-feeder tray we have.

 

[Carrie Lynn]

Ohhhdear,
Mypetchicken.com has wall mounted feeders that might work for you.

 

[FernyChick]

Hi I'm new here and I found this site by asking this question on Google! I think my coop (I'm in Melbourne Australia - Lockdown city!!) is just too small as the girls I have are really beefy ones. I think they are Isa browns(?). I think they are 20 weeks old? All three of them sit in the nesting boxes (made for two) and are very "close". then there is a little perch area and I cannot fit both the water feeder and the feed feeder in with the girls at night. I have them in the little run at the moment, hanging off the ground, but they have the full run of the yard during the day. My problem is that we get up at about 8am - because the kids are in lockdown and doing school from home, so we are not up as early. We let them out and open the doors to the yard. I am just worried if they want a drink and snack at night - I actually put the water only in there only - is that ok? Last night I was worried so I put a plate of corn inside for them to snack on - LOL. I'm an idiot right?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I am just worried if they want a drink and snack at night - I actually put the water only in there only - is that ok? Last night I was worried so I put a plate of corn inside for them to snack on - LOL. I'm an idiot right?

They don't need food or water in the coop at night at all, unless you have a light on all night for some reason (which you shouldn't). The coop being too small and the fact that they're sleeping(?) in nests is a separate issue, if you want suggestions for trying to fix that I'd suggest starting a new thread with photos and a description of your concerns.

If your climate is very hot and you feel you aren't up early enough to ensure they'll get water to deal with the heat, then I would put in a little water (maybe a chick size waterer) only when heat is an issue.

 

[Sunshine_Chick]

Hi I'm new here and I found this site by asking this question on Google! I think my coop (I'm in Melbourne Australia - Lockdown city!!) is just too small as the girls I have are really beefy ones. I think they are Isa browns(?). I think they are 20 weeks old? All three of them sit in the nesting boxes (made for two) and are very "close". then there is a little perch area and I cannot fit both the water feeder and the feed feeder in with the girls at night. I have them in the little run at the moment, hanging off the ground, but they have the full run of the yard during the day. My problem is that we get up at about 8am - because the kids are in lockdown and doing school from home, so we are not up as early. We let them out and open the doors to the yard. I am just worried if they want a drink and snack at night - I actually put the water only in there only - is that ok? Last night I was worried so I put a plate of corn inside for them to snack on - LOL. I'm an idiot right?

This thread is from 2010. I am in Florida where it is very hot & humid. I also house my 3 chickens in dog crates as I don't have a coop. They free range in my yard all day & sleep in their individual crates at night. I am NOT an early riser so they get out 10:30-11:30am. I only have water in each crate as food attracts pests. I think mine need water because of the heat. I'd say letting them out 8ish is fine; in fact, mine probably want to live with you!