When I put the girls to bed and close up their coop, do I put the water/food in with them or leave i

[Streetview]

Ive been putting it in, but wondering if they even touch it since they seem to go to sleep?

Do I always need to put the ramp up (putting it up also closes the 'door' to the coop) at night even in the summer?

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Good question. As long as you let them out it the morning, it's pointless to move the food and water in there. They won't eat or drink during the night.

Closing the door to the coop at night is a matter of security. I do it, for sure, but leave the window open (the opening is covered with hardware cloth).

 

[MeepBeep]

If there is no light in the coop it's pretty pointless to put the food and water in there as they generally don't move around at night and thus won't be eating and drinking...

But, it's not a bad thing to have at least some water in there just in case you slack on letting them out one day...

 

[Pinkaboo]

I did with my Marans as they had it all the time in the brooder I didn't want to just take it away
After about three weeks outside I noticed the food hadn't been touched
So I took it out and a week letter the water was the same
So now they have nothing

I'm happy I did it the way I did otherwise I'd of worried about then

 

[6of6chicks]

I have food and water in both places (coop and run). I tried it with no food in the coop, but they would practically stampede out the door and trample each other in the process just to get to the feeder in the morning. And that's with me opening the coop door on time (sunrise). When I put food & water in the coop it eliminated all that morning anxiety.

And, with food & water in the coop I'm free to hit the snooze button on the weekends.

 

[bobbi-j]

I have an attached run. The food is in the coop, mainly to keep it dry when it rains. The water is in the run in the summer, coop in the winter. There really is no reason to move it into the coop at night as they don't eat or drink as others have mentioned. Because my run is attached to my coop and it's fairly secure, I leave the pop door open so they can go out in the morning before I let them out.

 

[Streetview]

The coop itself is all hardware mesh with wire and pavers underneath so even if I left the ramp down no one is getting in there. Wasnt sure though, if they like the security of it all closed up? They do totally bust out in the morning, but they do that with food in there too. They bust out because every morning I either give them fresh sod or wheat grass haha. There is no light in the coop when the ladder/door is up/closed