Will chickens stick their head into a hole in the wall 4 food / water

[Jody]

I'm building a 2nd chicken coop for my new chicks since I wish to keep new chickens separate from the existing ones.

the floor space is 12 sq ft for 3 chickens.. 2 buff rock and 1 silver spangled hamburg. Since floor space is limited, external nesting boxes will be attached, giving them more space, and I thought about how a waterer and feeder would take up space, so thought about cutting a hole into a side wall where chicken could stick in its head to get food/water from a bowl contained inside the box, which would also make it easier for me to refill since I can open it from the outside instead of crawling into the coop. I'm thinking one hole for food and another for water.. How wide/high should the hole be for them to be able to get their head(s) in?

At some point I could expand the coop to be a little bigger, but for the time being, the plan is this.

 

[dirtfishing1]

I would make the holes 2" in diameter and 8-10" off the ground for full size birds or lower for smaller ones. 3" deep to get to the water\\food.
have fun,

Dirt

 

[Chickenteacher]

I'm betting they'd do it for a lot less......

 

[Terri O]

There is someone that made no spill feeding buckets that were 5 gals with holes cut out for their heads...yup I bet they would! Terri O

 

[Akane]

I just rescued a hen who stuck her head in to a hole for some spilled grain then underneath the container it spilled from and was flopping sideways. Chickens don't care where they stick their necks when food might be involved.