Feed inside coop or not??

[Rich386]

Water in water out - Feed in feed out
Cups or nipples?
Horizontal Nipples or vertical?
No need for anyone to be confused in the end it is what works best for you. These are all opinion and reflect what has worked for each one of us. If it sounds like a good idea try it if not don't. There are lots of good, no great ideas on BYC. Not all great ideas will work great for everyone.
For those old enough to remember the Veg-o-matic. A great idea for some not so good for others. LOL

 

[Andy Kelly]

NEW EGG? Is that your name? I do not go on facebook or text or tweet -0-. I only do email. And like you, I am also NEW to this chicken thing. Love it! I am in the process of having a 16'x10' shed built. It will also hold my new chickens. I keep them in a very small coop as of right now. Bought it at a place here in town, mistake one. But, I needed somewhere to house the Girls. So far I keep a small feeder inside the house area along with a small water container. On the outside I keep the larger feeder outside in the coop area, hanging along with a large water container. I will keep the larger one outside along with the water. The smaller ones will still stay inside. At least this way I know they will always have food and water w/o having to go inside all the time. Let me know what you end up doing.
I am amazed at how different each hen is!

 

[PrairieChickens]

Not only do we feed our chickens inside the coop, but we scatter corn and other goodies in their bedding material to encourage them to scratch through it. This keeps the bedding mixed up and turned, and the coop is ultimately cleaner longer as a result. In the winter, we keep the water inside of the coop with a heat source on it so it doesn't freeze, but in warmer months the water is outside. In addition to feeding the chickens inside the coop, we keep some of their feed outside as well so they don't have to crowd inside to eat if they don't want to.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Not only do we feed our chickens inside the coop, but we scatter corn and other goodies in their bedding material to encourage them to scratch through it. This keeps the bedding mixed up and turned, and the coop is ultimately cleaner longer as a result. In the winter, we keep the water inside of the coop with a heat source on it so it doesn't freeze, but in warmer months the water is outside. In addition to feeding the chickens inside the coop, we keep some of their feed outside as well so they don't have to crowd inside to eat if they don't want to.

We have a very highly respected Avian vet near us. He gave a presentation on backyard chickens, and told us in no uncertain terms that this was a bad idea, and that causing hens to root around in their own waste would spread parasites. Yes, chickens scratch, but they're not meant to scratch in their own waste.

 

[Chambertin]

Water in water out - Feed in feed out
Cups or nipples?
Horizontal Nipples or vertical?

Put your water in, Put your water out~
Put your feed in, Put your feed out~

Turn your (water) nipples and shake everything out

Put your scraper in, Put your scraper out~
Put your bedding in, Put your bedding out~

Turn your (Dichotomous Earth) cans and shake them all about

Put your opinion in, Put your opinions out~
Put your pictures in, Put your pictures out~

Posting about your chickens is what the chicken-pokey (and backyard chickens) is all about~

 

[atira]

I have tried it both ways within the past year of trying to raise chickens...Cons...Opossums and raccoons and stray birds (sparrows) seem to enjoy it if the food is outside and left out overnight...started bringing the food in for the night...but the sparrows still party on...Now, I feed inside the coop-ettes...and water outside...watering inside these tiny coops can be messy since my hens like to play with their gallon waterer and knock it over...
It all really comes down to what works best for you...me right now...food inside, water outside...I think it is just a matter of personal preference unless you have a whole big flock of chickens.

 

[miquwid]

Both my coops are tractors and they turn compost for me, in the x-large one the food and water systems are inside to make it easy to move, the small one it's outside. So I do both lol. My third coops will probably the items on the inside just from the way it's made. I prefer the water nipples and raised auto feeders, but mine get a ton of table scrub weeds and bugs, not much grass mostly weeds. I don't worry too much about rodents since mine eat them, I make sure they have DE and other items to keep internal parasites in check.

 

[rancher hicks]

Well I keep the water outside and the food inside. My reason for that is the mice and rats can't get to the food as easily. And I keep water outside because it spill a lot and rots the floor boards and makes the sawdust into mud when its inside. It is up to you whether to have food and water inside or outside, but that is how I do it. It really doesn't matter where the food is if the chickens can get to it easily.

Hope that helps you, good luck!

Here in the north any kind of water nipple system would need heat in the winter. I do have a five gallon bucket with nipples and a heater for back up in the winter. BUT I keep no food nor water in the coops that have runs attached. Those coops without a run have food kept in them so rodents and others can't get to it.

Water for coops with out runs gets replaced twice a day, with hot/warm water. The plan is to attach runs in the future. Coops are left open during the day.

Chickens and I don't get up that far apart for them to suffer with out food and water for a short time. I say what ever works for you. Here are my winter runs. Covered with plastic and stacks of hay inside so they can play all winter outside if they choose.

 

[Rich386]

Quote: I don't get near that cold but we do get a freeze. What I use is a small fountain pump that circulates the water. From the supply through the nipple run and back to the supply. I also use Horizontal nipples because only the back end of the valve is exposed to the water. That solved my freezing problem without heat. I wish someone in your climate would try this just to see if it works in those extremes.

 

[Rich386]

Quote: I don't get near that cold but we do get a freeze. What I use is a small fountain pump that circulates the water. From the supply through the nipple run and back to the supply. I also use Horizontal nipples because only the back end of the valve is exposed to the water. That solved my freezing problem without heat. I wish someone in your climate would try this just to see if it works in those extremes.