Feeder & Water in both coop and run?

[lazy gardener]

Quote: I am not Aart, but a closed waterer would be a nipple waterer. Consider trying horizontal nipples instead of vertical. The issues of frost bite and increased humidity would be greater in a smaller coop. I keep a 5 qt heated dog bowl in my coop. The waterer, no matter what style (unless it is spilling into the bedding) will not evaporate any near as much moisture into the air as the respiration from a single chicken. Not to mention the liquid exiting her other end!!!

 

[Ridgerunner]

We all have different coops, different flocks, different management techniques, different climates, and all that so we do different things. That’s one of the challenges of this forum, you can get a lot of conflicting advice and suggestions because we are all so different. When reading them you need to try to figure out what actually applies to your unique situation. That’s not always easy.

I have a much bigger coop than you do and I almost always have younger chickens in the flock, basically continuous integration. I feed and water both inside and outside because multiple feeding and watering stations makes integration a lot easier. My situation is totally different from yours.

In winter I water with black rubber bowls. When they freeze I can bust the ice out without breaking the bowls. By setting the black bowls in the sun (when there is sun) the water says thawed in pretty low temperatures. The sun never shines inside the coop, doesn’t shine at night, and some days are cloudy. I’m retired so I can go down there a few times a day if I need to take care of the water.

I have large well-ventilated coop and I do not heat my water. I’m not concerned by how much watering inside will raise humidity. A heated waterer inside your small coop could have a significant impact on humidity, especially if it is not well-ventilated. With good ventilation you might be OK with an open heated water bowl in there. If you go with a nipple system (which is a good suggestion) and have electricity out there, get someone on here that does that tell you how they keep the water thawed. I’ve seen several different ways mentioned but have no direct experience.

My run is set up so parts usually don’t get a lot of snow and it has some wind protection. Mine can pretty much go outside every day of the year. I don’t know how your run is set up or if you even have the option of watering in the run. At your elevation in Colorado you will almost certainly have colder snowier winters than I do. I seldom get much below zero Fahrenheit.

I wish you luck in finding a solution. My situation is so different from yours that I can’t offer any real concrete help. Lots of people have solved this so hopefully you can get specific help from them.

 

[aart]

Quote:
By closed waterer I mean a jug with a stopper and horizontal nipples.....there is a small hole in stopper for vacuum release.
This the heatable model for the whole flock...https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/aarts-heated-waterer-with-horizontal-nipples
I take the heater out and the insulation off when the freezing weather goes away.

I also have this quart size(2 of them actually) with a holder that allows easy swapping out of bottles:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/2-nipple-quart-water-bottle-holder

 

[Pats Poultry]

Thanks for all of the replies. Very useful information. I do believe that I have enough ventilation in the coop so I am thinking that a small waterer in the coop should not be a problem. I am off to the chicken supply store for a few nipples and then it is out to the shop.