Food and water in the coop

[chicks071123]

Good morning all,
Newbie to chickens here. We just finished our 6x18 coop and run last weekend and have had our girls in the run during the daytime. The girls are 7 weeks old and we are ready to move them from the brooder to the coop at night. Question for all you pros. Do we put food and water in the coop for them at night or just have the food and water in the run for them during the day? Thank you!

 

[reddogmaster2]

Our Coop and Run are pretty much open for the chickens to move from one to the other freely so I have all the food, grit and water under roof in the Coop area. I built a small platform to keep the wood shavings out of the food and water. Its a much more orderly and clean setting vs always having to clean the wood shavings out of the food and water containers.

 

[3KillerBs]

I liked having my food and water in the predator-hardened run I had with the in-town chickens.

I left the pop door open 24/7 so that the chickens could get themselves up and put themselves to bed so they had constant access to food and water but I never had to deal with the mess of spilled feed and/or water in the coop.

 

[fishin_dad]

I free-range my chickens after they are big enough but the 16 square foot brooder house contains the food and water only because my run is covered with wire and not roofing material

 

[GC-Raptor]

Do we put food and water in the coop for them at night or just have the food and water in the run for them during the day?

Chickens don't eat or drink when it's dark.
So as long as they have access to water and feed at daybreak till roost, they'll be good. But,

The girls are 7 weeks old.

If they will have a light on during the night they will need feed and water. GC

 

[Peppercorngal]

I do not have food or water in the coop. I do not want to attract rodents or snakes into the coop area where my chickens are sleeping, and when they are sleeping they are not eating and when they are in there laying eggs they are not eating either. I leave the water, oyster shell and feed in the run. I lock them in the run/coop at night and open the doors and they free range all day. Here's what I have in the run for them. Yes, there is a chicken swing, but I've never seen it used. . .ever!

 

[RRM]

No desire to have feed or water inside the coop as it’s a mess waiting to happen. Our chickens will eat before going to roost, then make a beeline back to the feeder/waterer the next morning.

 

[kiwi-chick]

I've recently purchased a Grandpa Feeder as I have a major problem with sparrow and other birds. I'm sure there are also rats and mice but I haven't seen them yet and don't want to.

The only "swing" type thing I've seen my chickens use is the one below!

 

[Chickenwang]

My run is a converted dog kennel with the bottom half (about 3 feet) of the chain link covered in hardware cloth. We do not want to invest more hardware cloth (and money) into the run as we will be moving soon. Therefore it is not completely inpenetrable. Animals small enough to fit through chain link AND can climb can get in. It does not keep out squirrels who get in the run and eat the scratch feed that I put out there in the morning. So I keep the food feeder in the coop to not feed the squirrel population. I have a 5 gallon waterer in the coop as well and an automatic waterer with watering cups in the run. My girls like to go back and forth from the run to the coop all day long. I have only had a squirrel once be bold enough to go into the coop to get their food from the feeder. I clean up all the leftover kitchen scraps and scratch out of the run in the evening so as not to attract rodents (have had one so far). The coop itself is very secure with no way for snakes, rats, mice, to get in at the feed. So once the girls are put away at night in the coop there is nothing that pests can eat. This setup works for me in that I can be lazy in the mornings in letting them out into the run as I know they have food and water in the coop. We also sometimes go on long weekends away with the girls locked in the coop with their food and water and they are already used to it. I would so do whats best for your schedule and coop setup. I don't think there is really a right or wrong answer as long as your chickens always have access to food and water!

 

[Frankiegirl]

I do not have food or water in the coop. I do not want to attract rodents or snakes into the coop area where my chickens are sleeping, and when they are sleeping they are not eating and when they are in there laying eggs they are not eating either. I leave the water, oyster shell and feed in the run. I lock them in the run/coop at night and open the doors and they free range all day. Here's what I have in the run for them. Yes, there is a chicken swing, but I've never seen it used. . .ever!

View attachment 2228553

Your space looks awesome! Tons of room for your flock to frolick