Will they be okay for tonight? And activity question

[Concordmommy]

9 week old pullets are locked in the henhouse tonight and probably for a while until they can figure out the ramp, etc. I just figured out though that we need a smaller waterer and feeder then, right? I have a plate of food in there right now and their huge waterer is in there, they're probably pooping all over both. But will they be okay with that until I can get a smaller feeder/waterer for in there? They don't really feed that much over night do they? I won't be able to go to the feed store until tomorrow.

Also, at this age is it normal for them to sleep a lot during the day as well as at night? I put them in the run today and they seemed to explore a little bit but really wanted to cuddle up and sleep mostly. I'm hoping they'll figure out the ramp soon and roost so they'll have more things to do. Do chickens get bored?

 

[Chick_a_dee]

My girls went in at about 9 weeks as well, they had a huge hanging feeder and a large 7 gallon waterer... I kept the feeder low on its chain so they could reach it and the waterer on blocks that they could reach so I didn't have to buy other waterers/feeders...

 

[Concordmommy]

mine can't get up and down the ramp yet though. I think I'll buy small feeder/waterer tomorrow and put it in there--i just checked them and they're all snuggly together--but haven't figured out the roost yet!

 

[felidaet]

I put them in the henhouse/coop last Friday. They are 4 - 5 weeks old. I have a heat lamp in one corner.

Why do you need a smaller feeder and waterer? I am using a 5 gallon waterer sitting on a small concrete block. It is staying pretty clean. For a feeder I am using a wall mounted feeder that I built from plywood. It is 24 inches wide. I have seen nearly all 18 of my chicks eating at the same time. I built the feeder BIG. I am estimating that it will hold about 150 lbs of feed. I will need to mount it better before putting this much weight in it. I put a 50lb bag of feed in it and it was not even 1/3 of the way full.

 

[Concordmommy]

I was thinking I'd need a separate feeder and waterer for their coop when they are locked in there. The feeder and waterer right now is set up in their run, not in their house. Right now I'm locking them up because they're still learning how to use the ramp, etc. So instead of leaving them without water and food, I was thinking I'd need something in there. Right now there's just a pan of food and I put the big waterer in there. I dont want to have to lug it in and out of the hen house into the run though every day twice a day.

 

[NotTheMomma]

It took about a week, maybe a few days less for my chicks to know to go into the coop at night on their own. They are younger than yours. Those first few days, some went in at night, but the rest would cuddle together in a heap outside in a corner, so I easily caught each one and put them in the coop. I turn the light on before bedtime, and within 15 minutes, everyone is inside and I can shut the coop door.

The only time I've noticed mine eating in the coop is when it's raining and they stay most of the day inside, or it's cool and they don't spend as much time in the run. Otherwise, they sleep at night, thus not using the water or food! They have access to it but seldom use it until daytime! So I think they would be fine without it at night. Unfortunately we've been having many days of rain since they moved into the coop, so I keep the food and water both in there since I don't have a place to put hte food outside that it won't get wet.

 

[NotTheMomma]

Oh, mine either turn 7 weeks on Friday or 8 weeks for the oldest, the second group is a week younger than them, and the last 6 chickies are only 4 weeks old! All live outside in a coop, with daily turnout into the run between 6 and 8 am (depends on what time I wake up!). They can choose to be inside or outside until it gets dark and then it's bedtime! I do keep the heatlamp on at night because of the youngest ones.


Edit to add:

The 4 week old chicks have never lived in the house. They've been outside in the coop with access to the run since they were 2 weeks old, and they have always gone back inside at night without having to be caught. I guess they learned from the older chicks. I dunno. They also have grown quicker, and feathered out lots faster. None went through the ugly stage!