Do i feed and water inside coop?

[Aunt Angus]

That is what works for us. Hope you find what works for you!

THIS. This is the best answer. Find what works for you. It was trial and error for me, but the worst "error" resulted in a messy coop. You'll figure it out. Shoot, if I did, anyone can.

 

[bonnyrae]

I like to feed inside. They can always get inside, but they can't always get outside. I do give their summer time treats in the run, or in the yard when we are out with them. I have kept food and water in both places. I have notice that my chickens seem to prefer outside for some reason. And water from a puddle will always be chosen over fresh water.

 

[KGandE]

I feed and water inside because I have ducks and I feel they need water at night so it's really your preference

My husband and I were literally discussing this about 15 minutes ago. We have a Coop with just a few ducks in it and then another coop with mixed ducks and hens. I feel like it seems cruel to leave them without food and water at night, but the ducks spilled water everywhere, especially in the coop with the hens. I find myself cleaning it out and putting a new shavings all the time and it’s driving me nuts. How do you keep them from dumping their water over all the time, I feel like I’ve tried every kind of container and set up possible

 

[Double Yolked]

When I was a new chicken keeper I tried putting feed and water inside the coop with an adult flock.. Once.
Messssssy, wet, unused.
When the lights go out the chickens conk out. When the lights come on they all go nuts trying to get the door to open. They don't seem to want to eat inside their coop if they can help it. During a very bad flood I was forced to keep them in the coop over the day before, there was 6 inches of water in the run so going out wasn't really an option and they grudgingly ate inside but they made a heck of a mess out of their coop to show me what they felt about it.

 

[Sally PB]

During the day, I have food in the coop. No water. At night, the food goes in the house with me.

Out in the run during the day, I have a heated waterer (I won't need that feature much longer; yay spring!), and two more bowls of food.

I wanted to have food in the coop and out in the run so that my original flock and the incoming chicks would have lots of places to eat, and at least one of them would be out of line of sight from the others. Now it's just what they're used to, so I still do it.

Here's how I deal with taking the food into the house at night. I have bowls that sit inside of food saver containers (Rubbermaid, eg) that are about 12 x 16. The containers help in a couple of ways. Easy to carry, and even if they tip the bowl, they don't spill the container, because I put a brick in it for weight.

 

[Flockincrazy]

My husband and I were literally discussing this about 15 minutes ago. We have a Coop with just a few ducks in it and then another coop with mixed ducks and hens. I feel like it seems cruel to leave them without food and water at night, but the ducks spilled water everywhere, especially in the coop with the hens. I find myself cleaning it out and putting a new shavings all the time and it’s driving me nuts. How do you keep them from dumping their water over all the time, I feel like I’ve tried every kind of container and set up possible

I don't I just deal with the mess and clean it up lol

 

[IowaClucker]

We do limited free ranging outside the pen, but when we do, food and water always, always come in at night.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

You'll just need to experiment what works best for your own situation.

I have a couple treadle feeders, 1 inside the coop, couple outside spread out plus an open feeder for chicks I have one outside and one inside the coop during the day only, a tray underneath for spills I clean up each evening and also clean up under the treadle for a few crumbs to not attract rodents. When I have mother hen and chicks they have an open feeder in that coop (that's inside the main coop) during the day only, spills cleaned up every evening.
I have a 2 large bucket multiple cup waterers outside the coop and a normal waterer inside the coop for better chick access and roosters comb makes it hard to drink from the cups so he uses the normal waterer mostly.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I feel like it seems cruel to leave them without food and water at night, but the ducks spilled water everywhere, especially in the coop with the hens.

Nothing cruel about it at all - if it's dark they're not going to eat or drink, so no reason to give them access to those things at night, especially if it doesn't work well in your set up.

If you're concerned that they need to have water access as soon as the sun comes up (they really don't) put the waterer(s) in the run and install auto doors to let them out at the crack of dawn.

 

[gtaus]

Do i put feed and water in coop or just assume they go to bed and let out in the morning with food and water in the run?

I suppose it all depends on where you live and how you want to care for your flock. I live in northern Minnesota. I built my coop large enough to easily have my food and water inside the coop. My chickens basically live in the coop for the snow months - they just don't go outside in the snow. I have a 5 gallon bucket PVC hanging feeder inside the coop along with a 3 gallon metal water fount sitting on top of a metal base heater so the water does not freeze. That setup works for me.