Food Placement Question

[Claudias Coop]

Newbie, Didnt see it in FAQ. Is food/water to ber placed in run, or in coop or both?

 

[Miss Lydia]

It's up to the individual, if you have enough room in your coop and want to provide food and water then by all means do it. I only put water in the coop for mine and they have done fine, their food is outside the coop. Just make sure it's all put up at night if not in the coop so not to attract rodents...........

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

A lot of people (I might even dare say most people) have water and food in the coop.

But I have found what works for me- (I had problems when I did that):

I have food and water in the run only. I remove all food at night to a covered pail in the garage. I set a repeating mousetrap in the run.

And I let them out first thing in the morning. They decide when to take their last meal and get in bed.

 

[Pequena Bandada]

I have food and water only in the run during the summer, and in both coop and run during the winter. In the summer, we hang the food dispenser and have a cover over the top so the mice can't get to it. That way I don't have to shut the food up every night - one less chicken chore.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

We have food and water in the coop. In the summer, we also have water in the run and out in the yard. I like to make sure they drink enough when it's hot, so I make it convenient for them.

If we had food in the run, it would get wet and preventing mold would be constant work. Moldy food is dangerous. We'd also have mice, chipmunks and wild birds eating it. Nobody bothers it in the coop.

We also have electric in the coop, so that's a good place to plug in, to keep the winter water unfrozen in the winter. When the weather is really, really bad, the chickens can be inside the coop and still have food and water.