food and water in the outside coop?

[tcanepa]

I am a newby. Where do you put the food and water in the outside chicken house? In the coop or underneath in the run? thanks

 

[Farmer_Dan]

I keep the food inside and the water outside. Wet food = mold = dead chickens.

Doesn't matter where the food is as long as it stays dry, you'll be fine.

 

[CathyM]

How big is your coop and your run? How much of the run is covered? I have a rain tarp over part of my run, and the food goes there. I have two bowls of water (still have to figure out how to do the hanging one on my set-up) so that if one bowl gets knocked over, they have the other... I'm fairly new to this, too, and you'll probably evolve what works for you over time.

Welcome to BYC!

 

[Debbiedodo]

My coop will be done soon and I was wondering the same thing. Hope you get some more answers.

Deb

 

[Cowgirl71]

I keep the feed inside the coop, so that it stays dry, and so that the cows won't eat it.

I like to keep the water in the run because there will inevitably be a little bit of leakage, but depending on the waterer, it can be kept inside too.

 

[airmechreed]

Im glad you asked this question

 

[Erica]

I put food in the run, but I feed twice a day (only as much as they need) and remove old feed so nothing stays around long enough to get mouldy.

For rainy days all my feeders have either drain holes or open ends (on the pipe feeders) for water to drain quickly away.

If you're feeding dry feed and leave a constant supply then I agree with other posts, it must stay under cover. However the shed will need to have a good light source so they can see the food.

Hope this helps,
Erica

 

[HoglundH]

Do your self a favour and put both outside, if you have a protected run. Make sure it stays dry! If you keep it inside you will be cleaning a lot more often.

 

[bryan99705]

I keep both inside on both sides of the coop to keep my goat and sheep out of them. The feeder hangs about 8" off the crushed gravel floor and the water sits up on a 2x6 frame covered with 1/2' hardware cloth stretched across the top to keep chicken & turkey feet dry. When it's hot, then I set a 2nd water outside to insure they always have water

 

[My6Chicks]

We have our feeder and waterer in the coop. So far it hasn't made a mess. The feeder is on a hanging chain and the waterer sits on a cinder block which maintains a proper height and it doesn't sway on a chain. In the winter, we need to have the waterer near a power source (in the coop) which keeps it from freezing.

In the summer, we have a second waterer that is in the run. This is for the convenience of the chicks, so they don't have to go to the coop for a drink. We feed them scratch, meal worms and table scraps in the run.

We do both. Hope this helps...