How many feeders and waterers do you all have out?

[WoodlandWoman]

During the winter, with freezing temperatures and snow on the ground, I have food and water in the coop.

During warmer weather, I also have water in the run and at the other end of the property. I like the chickens to be able to drink when they're out all day, without having to go all the way back to the coop. They forage over a couple of acres, sometimes more, depending on what gates are open.

The extra water containers are just large bowls. It's very easy for me to hose them out and refill them, when I'm out there anyway. I like to have water out there for the dogs, so they all just drink out of the same bowls. The dogs could wait and drink when they're back in the house, but I like them to stay hydrated, too. The hotter the weather, the more important it is for all of them to be getting enough water.

At least the chickens only stand around in the water bowl in their run. Bebe really likes to do that. She must be the Spa Princess of the flock, because she just loves soaking her feet.

 

[HHandbasket]

We have 3 waterers in the yard and one in the coop. They only go into the coop to sleep and to lay eggs. They spend the rest of the day foraging around and eating bugs and clover and such in our backyard.

I have lately been turning over the dirt in prep to start the garden, and my ladies are practically under the shovel as I turn the dirt over, getting every little juicy worm they can find. It's so funny to watch, like a feeding frenzy. We now have the garden area fenced off, and they no longer have access to it because I would prefer they not destroy my garden until AFTER we are done with it for the year (it's all theirs come fall--we just pull down the fence & they do the majority of the work for us). There is a lot of "natural food" in the yard for them, though they do have a feeder with grower food in their pen and a couple bowls of free-choice oyster shell in the yard, plus they get calcium from the bodies of the bugs they eat. So, we have extra waterers in the yard but not extra feeders. They get plenty to eat.

The sun has been out here, and as we move boards and things that have been sitting all winter and find all the buggies and wormies growing underneath, we call the girls over. They know now when we are picking stuff up in the backyard to just follow us around and that food will be not far behind.

We have 6 hens and 1 young pullet (14 weeks). We have spent maybe .... MAYBE... $40 in feed/scratch combined since the day we got them last May. (Now, ask me again how much we spend for the steeenkin' oatmeal and flaxseed with yogurt DH has to get up and make them for breakfast almost every day LOL.)

 

[Tala]

Well when I free ranged I had water EVERYWHERE in 2-gal Fortiflex buckets. Now remember, the dogs, cats, wildlife and chickens were all using it though.
I put one bucket on the north side of the house which keeps it in the shade all day and the cats/dogs really appreciated that. I put one bucket under the back deck, which is mostly shady and that's where the chickens usually hang out so they used it the most. Then there was one in the front yard for the dogs, and one in the coop for the chickens in the mornings before I let them out. AND I put a bowl under the air conditioner drip, which collected constantly-COOL water all day long. The chickens really liked that. I dumped it daily coz they walked in it a lot to cool their feet off. The water coming from the garden hoses was at least 90*F on those 100* days so the a/c was the only place to get cool water without me adding ice

I've always had two feeders. Used to be one in the middle of the yard with a weather shelter, and one in the coop. Having multiple feeders is less important when free-ranging because there is food everywhere.

In my current pen, I have 11 chickens. One 2-gal bucket is sufficient in the winter, but I use two in the summer for the same number of birds and they drink them down when it's hot.
I still have two feeders in my pen now, kindof separate from each other so hopefully nobody is getting bullied away from the food all the time. One is always full of egg pellets, sometimes I just put oats in the other one - cuts the feed bill and doesn't seem to hurt laying.

 

[gryeyes]

Any chickens cooped up get waterers (such as in an infirmary coop or a grow-out coop) in the pen area attached to the coop. I have nipple waterers on two 5 gallon buckets in "the yard." I also keep two waterers in the yard full of water. Plus the kiddie pool for the ducks; the chickens drink out of it, too. ICK. And a 40 gallon trough in the front yard supposedly for the ducks, but everybody drinks out of it. Even the cats, balancing on the edge.

I have two goldfish ponds and the chickens drink out of them, too.

 

[Dutchgirl]

We usually just cut up those gallon-size milk jugs and put about four or five at various places around the coop. In the summer, when the chickens are free-ranging, we'll put one or two outside, also. They need enough water.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Do you have any pics of these? I have been collecting gallon size milk jugs and I'm trying to find ideas to recycle them. The first thing that I thought about was using them for waterers and feeders.