Indoor or outdoor feeders and waterers

[Ziggy55]

I am still relatively new to chicken raising but am finding our current system for food and water is not working for our needs. We have a smaller coop that has the nesting area in the top part of the coop and currently are having to get on the ground and put the food and water hanging underneath that because it's covered. I find it difficult to do and my nine year is having an even worse time navigating this. Not to mention, between the hens and us spilling things as we are hanging and it's a mess. We leave the coop door open the majority of the time so they can be outside most of the time and have a tall fence surrounding this area. We haven't had any issues with this set up so I think we will leave it alone but I plan on building a covered feeder for the hens hoping to cut down on the mess and waste. Do I need to put it in the coop or can I just attach it outside the coop? Same with the new watering system. I plan on making one with nipples so does it need to be inside or out? And if they can be outside we will def use our old system when the coop needs to be closed.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! It sounds like you have one of those cute prefab coops? Can't climb into or under it, right? That's why a walk-in coop design is best; much more spacious and user friendly. If your run is predator proof and roofed so that the coop is never shut, having the food and water out there will definitely be easier! I do have food and water in my (much larger) coop, to keep it from freezing. Mary

 

[Ziggy55]

Our coop came with the chickens from a friend who had to rehome them...I am currently researching better options (a walk in for sure!) but it will not be possible to build until Fall so I need a solution for our currently coop now. The run is not covered and won't be since I move the whole thing every few months and they also were free ranging it for a few months until my kids refused to play in the yard due to chicken poo.

 

[Ziggy55]

And it rarely freezes where we live though dealing with the heat is a real problem at times.

 

[Mahlzeit]

I personally prefer to keep the feeder inside the coop and waterer outside. They seem to be really messy when drinking and have water everywhere so I enjoy it outside to keep it from rotting my coop. The feed I like indoors for a few reasons. It keeps it from getting wet during rain. A cover can block most of it but not all rain and also to keep birds, squirrels and other pests from eating the feed as well.

 

[Mahlzeit]

Oops I didn't mean to post that yet. You can build one of those pvc wall feeders very easily and put it on the wall somewhere that is easily accessible.

 

[Folly's place]

Didn't mean to be cranky here; we all start with what's available. Feed outside in the rain won't be good, but water won't matter so much. The birds want to eat and drink at dawn when they get up, so it's all got to be available then. Mary

 

[wamtazlady]

if you can put a tarp over part of the run, that could be a good place for your food if you decide to keep it outside. It wouldn't add much weight or would be easy to remove when you needed to move the coop. Part of my run has a tarp and my food is under it to stay dry. I also keep the water outside. Humidity in the coop can lead to frostbite in winter. This is my 4th year having chickens. It takes experimenting to figure out what works best for you. This is the first year I feel I've gotten things right.