Food/water inside or out?

[Lulu-vt]

I know everyone has their opinions but I’m looking for reasoning to have the food and water inside or outside.

My setup: I’m in Vermont. It’s about to get cold but not quite yet. I have a coop with an auto door set for sunrise and sunset. I have an enclosed run that they mostly hang out in during the day.

Currently my water is outside. I have a 5 gallon bucket with 4 horizontal nipples and 2 vertical nipples. I added the vertical because they were struggling with the horizontal ones. But the horizontal ones leak and I can’t seem to stop them. Argh (hence outside)

The food is in a 13 gallon kitchen garbage can with pvc feeders on the side. I’m adapting them because the chickens literally fling the food everywhere!! It’s a mess.

I have a lot of potential predators (all of them) I’m not worried about vermin, it’s never been an issue. I’m not sure if the food is best outside or inside?

When winter comes (and earlier) I’ll have to figure out a way to keep my water from freezing without electricity. I’m certain there’s a way.
So perhaps the water would be best inside to protect from the elements. I’ll have to get that dripping to stop.

Picture of a couple of hens at the feeder while I work inside the coop. I put the dog on guard duty so they don’t jump out. They did. She didn’t care. Ha ha!!

 

[azygous]

In my opinion, the number one factor for where to place food and water is where do the chickens spend most of their waking time? For my chickens, that would be their run, so that's where the food and water are. There is no reason to place food and water in the coop since my chickens only go in there to lay eggs and to sleep.

 

[Lulu-vt]

In my opinion, the number one factor for where to place food and water is where do the chickens spend most of their waking time? For my chickens, that would be their run, so that's where the food and water are. There is no reason to place food and water in the coop since my chickens only go in there to lay eggs and to sleep.

That makes sense. I wonder if they will hang out there more in the winter? This is their first year so I’m unsure.
I built them a lovely coop but they rarely hang out there!! I guess it was more for me.

 

[Penpal]

As for the water, I change it more often in the winter. I put out warm water to stave off the freezing but that is all. You can put something that floats and will break up the ice as it's starting to freeze, but that is about all. Most animals will drink quite a bit of water so they don't need to have water available at all times. If you put out water in the morning, then when you get home from work, or sometime that fits with your schedule, they should be getting enough water. They don't need as much water in the winter as they do in the summer. They will eat snow, but it's not as efficient since ten inches of snow equals one inch of water.

 

[aart]

I like having feed and water in the coop.
But my coop is part of a large shed so it's convenient for storage of feed and protection of power source for winter water heater.
It's also much nicer for me to be under cover whilst choring.
My run is mostly uncovered so they spend the nasty days in the coop.
There have been times when days go by without them going into the run, another reason I keep flock population low to avoid crowding.

Installation of horizontal nipples can be tricky to keep them from leaking at the threads. I've always used rather thin walled vessels for HN's, which I believe work better for thread seal. Vertical nipples are more likely to leak due to the valve design and don't work well in a heated vessel.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm not in your climate but I'll throw out some ideas.

How protected is your run? My chickens don't mind cold down to about 4 below zero Fahrenheit. That's as cold as it has gotten. Growing up on the farm, some the chickens slept in trees when it got to -10 Fahrenheit. Those trees were protected from wind. That was important. Chickens might not mind cold they do not like a cold wind strong enough to ruffle their feathers.

They might not like snow either. If the snow fell and covered the ground while they were outside it did not bother them. But if they woke up to a white world (it snowed overnight) they generally did not go outside in it for two or three days. They had to get used to it before they went out.

I don't know how your snow behaves. Does the ground stay white all winter once you get a decent snow or do you get thaws in between snows? Does a cold wind blow in your run? The feed needs to stay dry. I don't know how feasible it is to feed in your run in the winter. You can have some of the same issues watering in the run too.

You said you do not have electricity out there so heated waterers are out. I have electricity but I do not use it to heat water. I don't use nipples either. In winter I water in small black rubber tubs (waterer size) I got from Tractor Supply. If you can set them in the sun they can stay thawed into the teens Fahrenheit due to solar heat. But the sun does not shine every day and never at night. When the water freezes I bang the rubber tubs against the ground in the run to break the ice out and refill them with fresh water. They poop in that water but since I break it out every day it stays clean enough.

While it feels a lot better to have thawed water out there all day, I agree that watering them twice a day is enough. On that farm growing up our cattle, horses, and chickens drank from a farm pond. When it iced over we'd break the ice twice a day for the animals to drink.

I don't know how feasible solar power would be for you. I'd think you'd need a pretty good battery bank to provide power when the sun was not shining. Providing heat can take more power than providing light.

I don't know if any of this helps you or not. People have been keeping chickens where you are since pioneer days. You can do it.

 

[Sally PB]

I have a covered run, but snow can blow in if the wind is right. The chickens spend most of their time in the run, until it gets to about 15-20 degrees. I put up wind blocks on the west and east sides. The south side is the coop, and the east side is about 6 feet away from the garage.

I have one bowl of feed in the coop, removed at night. I have two bowls of feed in the run, removed at night. I have one heated water bowl in the run, emptied at night. This keeps the mice or other small critters from deciding the run is a good place to eat/drink at night.

When it gets down to about 10 degrees, I leave the pop door open on the coop, but shut the people door. If they want to come out, they can, and usually they do, but they don't hang out outside all day.

When it gets to the single digits, I put a bowl of snow in the coop, and shut the pop door. They have food and water (snow), and an enclosed space to hang out in to wait for a warmer day. I check on them at least two or three times a day when they're shut up in the coop.