feeders and waterers outside of hen house?

[mrbstephens]

The coop is made and I bought a 2 gallon waterer to hang under the hen house(which is two feet off the ground). The coop is 4x6 to house my 6 chickens(at least 1 is a rooster which I'd have to rehome). I'd get more chickens, but would limit myself to 8 at the most. The nesting box is exterior and I'll be putting up two roosts that will extend the full length of the coop(six feet), one higher than the other. I was considering saving even more space by putting the feeder outside too. The run is NOT predator proof so the chickens would be locked up for the night. How early would I have to let them out in the morning to get to their feed and water and how late would I have to lock them up? Would mounting the feeder under the coop be sufficient enough in keeping the feed dry in case of a rain storm? Thanks for your help!

 

[dykeswa]

Don't think i would do it I would make sure their feed will not get wet...
WAD

 

[mrbstephens]

OK. I've seen others do this with the feed. But, how?

 

[dykeswa]

One thought is get or build a large dog house and set it inside JAT
WAD

 

[lunkerchicken]

I have food and water outside in the run as well as in the coop but 3/4 of my run is covered with plastic corrugated roofing to protect against weather. I also have the water and food on a pulley system should the weather be real bad, I can put the the containers up near the roof and out of the way of any blowing rain. It works good and this way they can have food 24/7, whenever they like.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

I have feed & water outside in the run, but my coop is an open coop and the run is predator proof. You can click on my BYC page to see it.

 

[saddina]

I have water in a corner of the coop, and the main waterer and feed can out in the run. For inside I fill up a martini glass (seriously they perferr that) with about 2c of water, then I let them out when I make breakfast. So for the hour or so they're up before i am they can have a drink.