Feeding and watering for small flock

[kristip]

In the process of setting up my small coop for roughly 6 hens. Coop is 8 x 4 and run is 8x 8.

Looking at waterers and feeders out there. Are the plastic ones the easiest? I would guess the metal ones would get awfully cold for the birds in winter... or me for putting food in. Feeders hold 3, 11, 22 and 50 lbs of food. I plan to change it daily so what size do I need?

Waterers are 3 or 5 gallons. I saw one that plugged in that was a 3 gallon for $35 which might be good in winter but is it big enough? Or one inside and one outside in winter?

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Karens62]

I've got a PVC feeder I made out of 3" PVC with the long upright piece being 2ft long with a curved bottom (do a search for PVC feeder). This feeder is lasting about 3-4 days with each fill up for 6 full grown hens. I also feed them a couple cups of kitchen scraps over the course of the day and am handful or two of scratch I the coop to get them to stir up the litter. They do free range, just an hour or two a day, but the feeder keeps them going for half a week which is nice for those days I am in a hurry.

 

[briteday]

If your location gets below freezing I would go with the metal as the plastic might crack in the cold over time.

 

[Imp]

I really didn't like the feeders and waterers. Took me about a week to throw them away and go with stainless steel bowls.
Easy to grab, bring inside and wash out daily.

Imp