Feeder and water location

[crystalsc]

Hello! Newbie question. Sometimes researching leaves you more confused over a subject than when you started reading.
I originally planned on hanging my water can and feeder under the litter tray inside the coop. I’m also seeing that people hang them out in the run. What is your take on that?

I live in NW SC near the mountain foothills and our weather is generally mild. We experience all 4 seasons but rarely have more than two weeks of extreme temps (either extreme heating or freezing) if at all.

I plan on having an automatic door to the run that opens sunrise/closes sunset.

 

[RisingPhoenixFarms]

It's really about personal preference. Personally, I have food in both place but to keep the coop dry i only have water outside.

 

[chickeyumass]

I keep both water and food outside the coop in their enclosed run. I feel this encourages them to go outside.

 

[Theorrin]

i keep food in both places in the shade. its all where YOU want it. Sometimes food and water in the coop can leave a coop alot more messy but out in the run the food/water can sometimes get dirty

 

[rosemarythyme]

You'll get different answers because there is no one "right" answer, it all depends on your set up and management.

I have water strictly outside of the coop so the coop will always stay bone dry.

I have food inside and outside of the coop. Fermented feed goes outside, again so coop stays dry, and dry feed goes inside, so it doesn't get wet and start to ferment.

 

[Sally PB]

I have water strictly outside of the coop so the coop will always stay bone dry.

I have food inside and outside of the coop. Fermented feed goes outside, again so coop stays dry, and dry feed goes inside, so it doesn't get wet and start to ferment.

Same here. The feed that is inside the coop will only be there a short while longer. It's for the chicks who are nearly 11 weeks old. They eat most of their food outside the coop now, anyway.

I don't want feed in the coop any longer than necessary, to avoid attracting any mice. I cover up/remove the feed in the run at night. If mice come into the run during the day, they can entertain the chickens... good luck with that.

 

[aart]

I keep my feed and water inside the coop, which is part of a large shed.
It's convenient for me as the feed is stored there and my run is not protected from the weather.
My waterer(horizontal nipples) doesn't spill or leak or evaporate, other than a few drips once in awhile, and it's safer to power the heater it in the winter under cover.

 

[Ridgerunner]

As you can probably tell some of us feed and/or water inside the coop only, some in the run only, and some both in the coop and run. And we all have different reasons for our choices.

I feed and water in both coop and run. I often do not let them out of the coop in the morning until 9:00 so I want food and water available when they wake up. I almost always have immature birds in the flock, it helps them eat and drink if you have widely separated feeders and waterers so the adults can't bully them away from them. I want them outside the coop as much as reasonable so they are not pooping inside the coop and increasing the poop load that has to be managed. I have a frost free spigot down there so water is handy and my feed storage is down there. Feeding and watering in both is convenient and suits my preferences and concerns.

 

[Sally PB]

What to consider when placing feed/water in the chicken coop/run:

#1a Conveniently located for chickens (and for integration reasons)
#1b Conveniently located for caretaker
#1c Inconveniently located for predators/pests/vermin