Feeding areas

[fowlplay]

Hubby and I are getting ready to start building our coop, but are still in a quandry about what to do for a feeding area. We want to make sure the water especially, is raised to aid in keeping the hay/shavings out of it.
What do you guys do? We're in desperate need of ideas and suggestions! Pics, if you have them, would be a bonus!
Help!

 

[patandchickens]

First, recognize that chickens are chickens and you're realistically not going to be able to keep ALL floor crud out of waterers/feeders. I swish my waterer out daily (into a small basin, which I thn dump) to remove bits of yutz that have gotten into it, and wipe or scrub it (depending how it looks) every time I refill it. I've only used hanging or wall-mounted feeders, and not had any problem with anything at all getting into them.

So, you can use hanging feeders/waterers (swinging may be an issue in a crowded coop, I dunno - I don't have that problem, but I expect a floor tether system could be worked out if you needed).

Or wall-mounted, although the only wall-mounted waterers I know of are either the automatic waterer type or are small and homemade.

Or a lot of people, including me, will just set the waterer up on a pile of boards or bricks. I do a sort of 2-tiered pile, with the bottom level about even with the top of the bedding, and the top arranged so that when a hen is standing on the botttom tier the water is at about the height of her back. I'm pretty happy with the arrangement. (*Any* kind of waterers and feeders should be set at about back height, however they're rigged up, to minimize waste and contamination).

Some people also put the waterer on a wire or plastic mesh platform, so there is a larger somewhat shavings-free area around it. And it keeps the birds from walking in any spills (which you can then easily clean up by removing the grid to get under it). I have tried this -- maybe I have used too small a mesh size, but I found that shavings mostly just got piled up on top of it til it was covered and did no good. I think that is a problem with *me* not with the method tho

Good luck,

Pat

 

[fowlplay]

Thanks for the info Pat! Very helpful and very much appreciated