Food and Water inside the coop or kept in the run?

[stewartfamof5]

I have a large area sectioned off in the yard for the ladies to graze all day long. I am also converting part of my Shed into my coop. (Sorry I have not been able to load pictures) Last winter the girls stayed in the coop days on end when it snowed and weather was a little cooler than they like. My thought is to move the food and water to the run where it would be covered from the weather to encourage them to get it and poop less in the coop! I live in Columbus Ohio, so we get the 90 degree summers, and the winters can be below freezing for several days as well. Has anyone tried this? Success? Worst decision ever?

Jonathan

 

[JanetS]

We live in Florida sooo we don't have to worry about snow but we do have the feeder and water in our chickens run. We also have a small feeder in the coop because we lock up the girls at night (and they get up so darn early) it keeps them busy until I can get out there and open the door.

 

[chfite]

I keep food in the coop to avoid the rain. I keep water in the run to avoid problems with spillage. If it spills on the ground, no problem.

My chickens don't fail to go outside daily. It rarely snows here. When it did last winter, they tended to poke around and fret that they could not find any green things to eat. We have green, leafy vegetation year round here. The snow generally melts by afternoon, so they were getting around well by afternoon.

Chris

 

[gardendufus]

I keep my food in the coop year round. This keeps the pesky wild birds from eating it all up and also keeps it out of the rain/snow. Well, some snow, even less rain here in Colorado Springs. The water I keep outside year round, but in the winter I add a large heated waterer to the inside of the coop. That way on days when it freezes, I know they have unfrozen water available.

 

[Alaskan]

I hate the food and water in the coop, since that = mice and high humidity that leads to frost bite.


I have gone through different things over the years. But I have a bit more problem than some, since I have wind too, not just cold and lots of snow.

My hens don't like the wind, and they don't like the deep snow either.

I have an old planting table in their run, and they LOVE sitting under that, since it is sheltered and mostly free of snow. But, all that is just a table, easy to do.

That is what I would suggest, put in a couple of spots where they can be shelterd from the snow and wind, and they will be more likely to go outside.

You can put the food under a table type of set up to keep it clear of snow, or look through the feeder sections on BYC and see if something looks like it will suit. Oodles of options.

The other thing my girls really like.....I have a plastic panel that fell over (one of the corrugated plastic sheets, originally 8x8) and it made a shape like a hoop house. It get a bit warmer under there, and the girls like it.

You could put up a plastic panel, or a clear tarp on one section of the run fence to block wind and make it a bit warmer for them.

 

[kerahs ranch]

I keep mine on the outside so that they know the differnece between in and out. It also keeps the inside of the coop clean