Best place to feed chickens in their coop

[Chickyx4]

Hey everyone, I am new to this site and raising my backyard chickens and have a question for you. Where have you found is the best place to keep your chickens food? We started by putting their food in the coop with them, but it got a little cramped in there, they started tipping over the food and pooping in the food. Next we put the food on the ground under their coop but they keep tipping their food bowls over and dumping their food on the ground into their poop, yet again. Where do you suggest we put their food and if we should be using a different type of feeder? How much should we be feeding 4 chickens, that are 4 months old, per day in order to get them ready to lay eggs?

 

[chixmaidservice]

I'm a big fan of the feeders that can hang. I have one hanging in the coop w/ my juveniles, and my "mature" flock has a "patio" made from a discarded clear plastic office chair mat w/ 2x4 legs, that protects their hanging feeder from the elements. I hang them w/ old leashes that have a snap end for easy removal to fill or clean. Chickens on a shoestring- that's me!