Feed/water....in the coop or out?

[mkolasa]

Okay so to leave the girls plenty of room in the coop I would like to leave the feed and water in the run during the Spring, Summer and Fall. I know people do this but how do you keep the mice or other small critters from eating the feed it if sits out all night?

 

[PippinTheChicken]

If they have access to the run all day, you dont need it in the coop. I dont have "critters" eating the feed at night... I don't think so anyway or you can cover the feeder at night with a cloth or take it in the house for extra protection

 

[Acre4Me]

We hang their feeder outside, back height so that there is less waste. We take the two feeders in every night to a counter in the barn. We have a barn cat in there. No mice evidence in that area in the barn (we sweep the floor a lot). If we needed to really keep mice out, we would use a metal trash can and put the feeders into the metal can at night. You could do this in the run if the metal can does not get rained on. The feeders we use are the round, plastic, red/white, gravity, 7lb feeders sold at TSC. So two feeders would easily fit into one metal can.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Put the feeder in a metal trash can at night. I don't have a rodent issue now but I did before, so anything to convince mice/rats that it's not worth coming in is good to me!

 

[Sally PB]

This is what I did last summer, and it worked well.

The food bowl (one of those heavy duty black rubber ones) sits in a rubbermaid food container, about 12x16". I put a couple of big fist sized rocks in beside the bowl to prevent it from getting tipped over. At lock up, I set the bowl on the ground and put a glass pie plate upside down over the bowl. Then I put the rubbermaid container upside down over that, and the rocks on top.

Nothing got into the bowl.

Or I could do what I've done all winter. Put the lid on the rubbermaid container and take it into the house.

 

[mowin]

Winter, my food and water are in the coop.
Once it warms up, food and water is in the run. Covered runs and fully HC wrapped.

 

[MamaChick70]

Okay so to leave the girls plenty of room in the coop I would like to leave the feed and water in the run during the Spring, Summer and Fall. I know people do this but how do you keep the mice or other small critters from eating the feed it if sits out all night?

This becomes a preference- you will see what works for you. I moved my 6 girls in there coop in August and I had a 5 gallon cross nipple outside in the run. I had there food in the coop as well as another 5 Gallon water container. My girls do not free range and I lock them in there coop at night. Some will tell you they don’t eat at night , and they are correct. However, throughout the day my girls go into their coop to eat from the feeder.
I am in the process of buying an outside Heated running waterer so the water won’t freeze. I am also changing the kind of feeder I am presently using. I am hoping to help reduce the food waste. I have not had any issues of rodents in the coop.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I keep food in the run, though I **could** use J-style PVC feeders in the house, if weather was so bad I had to lock them in for days - say, a hurricane? Water is technically outside the house, too - but the birds can stick their heads thru some welded wire under the house and access one of the water sources inside the run, and frequently do.

 

[mamajos]

I have food and water in both coop and pen. The food is in the J style PVC feeder. We cover that with the plastic plug at night with a rock on top so critters won’t eat out of it. Water is in 5 gallon buckets with horizontal nipples. No problems with critters yet.