Food and water inside raised coop?

[Ste]

We are almost done with our coop/run renovation and I'm trying to figure out food and water. In the past we had water in the run and food in the coop. We now have raised the floor and you can still walk inside however not as easily as before. The entire thing is completely roofed.

We will be running a water line underground to just outside the coop/run. There we will put a spigot so water will be closer and easier than dragging the hose across the yard. I'm thinking of doing an automatic water dish in the run that's attaching to the spigot.

What about food though? How does everyone do feed in a raised coop? Anyone have photos so I can see?

I'm also planning on doing a 4ft x 8 foot compost area inside the run.

 

[Ridgerunner]

For the water I suggest a frost free hydrant so you have water available year around, even in winter. That makes life so much easier.

What dos your coop now look like that might make it harder to feed inside? What kind of feeder do you use? There are so many different ways you can go about feeding that it's hard to make too many specific suggestions without knowing a lot more.

I don't have photos but in my 4' x 8' elevated non-walk-in grow-out coop I build a wooden box with slats on top to feed in the coop. The slats reduce waste since they can't scoop with their beak or get in to scratch. But plenty of people use commercial feeders or build their own, maybe the PVC pipe feeder. There are just so many options.

 

[Folly's place]

If your birds aren't locked into their coop area every night, the food can be anywhere convenient. If they are locked in the coop because the run isn't (yet) predator proof, then feed in the coop, so they can eat at dawn when they get up. I have food in both areas (four or five feeders for 49 birds) so no one is left hungry.
I agree about the frost- free hydrant, and hope that's what you meant here. Mary

 

[hlhutchinson]

This is what we have inside the coop perfect does not take up much room because it's mounted to the door.

To refill just pull the feeder down and re fill

They use the feeders in the run more but I'm thinking in winter they will utilize the one in the coop

I also have one for oyster shells in the coop that does not take up much space

 

[Ste]

Here's our new coop and run. Still need to do stairs up to the door, do something with the porch area and the hardware cloth between the coop and run area.



You can see what we currently use to feed and water. The feeder used to be in the coop. Is it ok in the run? I bought an automatic fountain that fills the bowl at the feed store today. Is that what you mean by frost free fountain? It does have the option of a heater underneath. I haven't installed it yet. We will be doing an 8 ft x 4 ft compost box at the far end of the run.



We have an automatic pop door that opens at 5am and closes at 830pm. (we will be putting hardware cloth up there at the top so the coop will be secure at night.)




Inside we put hardware cloth so the window can be opened from the outside. This area is tall enough to stand in so I can put the feeder back inside. The short door just makes it a little uncomfortable to go in and out multiple times.

Roosts and pop door. We could cut a hole in the area to the right of the pop door. That section of wall is right next to the nesting boxes and completely covered by roofing on the other side


New nesting boxes open from the outside to collect eggs.

The back side of the coop with the new nesting boxes. This area is an 8 ft x 24 ft storage area that's completely roofed.

 

[Folly's place]

Very nice! I would add more predator protection, though. Wood strips (1"x4") screwed over the hardware cloth framing, and maybe 2"x4" woven wire fencing along the lower three or four feet of the hardware cloth also. Raccoons are relentless, and a couple of large dogs can do a lot of damage is a short time!
Very secure latches on the nest box door and all other doors. If a child can open it, so can a raccoon!
Do you have a rat wall to prevent digging all the way around coop and run? Do it ASAP if not.
I like it! Bright and airy, very nice. You may with for taller, and crawling under that coop will not be fun, but it does look good. Mary

 

[Birdsong 82]

Very nice! I would add more predator protection, though. Wood strips (1"x4") screwed over the hardware cloth framing, and maybe 2"x4" woven wire fencing along the lower three or four feet of the hardware cloth also. Raccoons are relentless, and a couple of large dogs can do a lot of damage is a short time!
Very secure latches on the nest box door and all other doors. If a child can open it, so can a raccoon!
Do you have a rat wall to prevent digging all the way around coop and run? Do it ASAP if not.
I like it! Bright and airy, very nice. You may with for taller, and crawling under that coop will not be fun, but it does look good. Mary

I agree. It looks awesome but predator proofing is imperative cause you don't want to find out what you should've done the hard way. I had a raccoon dig below the framing and pull the chicken out. They are crafty crafty creature. But it looks awesome otherwise. I keep my food and water in the run with no issues. Find it easier actually. As long as your giving fresh food and water daily then keeping it in the run shouldn't be any issue

 

[lazy gardener]

Agreed. Staples and hardware cloth offer very little protection. The staples are the weak point. Nice build. You should be proud of yourself.

 

[Birdsong 82]

Maybe try sandwiching hardware cloth between two pieces of lumber. And use U nails because they're not possible to get out. Last time I use them I had to cut the fencing around the U nail because I couldn't get it out