Let's see your feed & water setup!

[BarnyardChaos]

Let's see what everyone is doing to feed and water your flocks! Show & tell - what works best, what do you hate about it, how do you change it for winter or summer? How much effort does it take to maintain? How much did it cost? PHOTOS are a must!

 

[SandyRiverChick]

WATER: See pics, This rain barrel with these cups. I like it, chickens like it. I do have to keep a lid on the barrel so that no debris gets in to clog the cup filters and I do have to wipe out the cups weekly to keep them clean but it works great all winter with rain water, in the summer I fill up with the hose weekly. For super cold temps I use a heat lamp on bricks inside of a cinder block, typical plastic chicken waterer on top. I don't have to do that more than a few day's or so in my climate.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Main feeder: 7 lb plastic gravity feeder. Works fine no complaints. No real maintenance. I have it both "hung" and resting on an overturned pot to prevent birds from knocking it over.

Waterer: Premier 1 heated waterer (listed at 3 gal, holds closer to 2). Zero maintenance, I just hose it clean and fill it. In winter I attach the power cord to the back to keep water defrosted, rest of the year the cord comes off.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

So here is mine - in three parts. I raise chickens not as pets, but as livestock - for meat and eggs. Currently I have about 78 birds at different ages, 2 weeks to 2 years in three different coops.

I generally use standard metal trough feeders and plastic or metal standard watering containers everywhere. Nothing fancy here; I went about the least expensive route I could find when I first set up. It works, chickens don't care how it looks. I rinse and re-fill waterers every day. Maintenance and effort are fairly significant every day, but that just forces me to spend more time with the birds - a good thing. Gets my butt off the chair and into the pens at least three times a day.

First, the "Nursery" coop for the brooder toddlers. It's providing for 9 chicks currently. They were camera-shy today:

Next door is the "Playhouse" coop, for chicks who have graduated out of the need for supplemental heat. I have two larger feeders in here, and two waterers. These feeders are screwed to those planks you see - to prevent being turned over. Makes cleaning them difficult, but I only scrub and sanitize them in-between rotations of chicks, once a month or two. Waterers, of course, refreshed every day. Earlier this summer, I discovered a small colony of beetles breeding underneath the bigger plank. I turn it over every few days and let the chicks have a party. There are currently 18 chicks in here:

Then there's the "Big Coop" and run with four separate watering and feeding stations, placed in different areas so no one gets bullied away from feed and water. I have four age groups in this space. I use open trough feeders with the rod that spins. They work fine. In this pic, you see one station - with the feeder tucked up under the front of the coop (old camper trailer) - for cover from hawks, and rain. And there's the communal oyster shell tray. That bird is "Roofuss", one of my new cockerels I chose to keep as a defender and breeder for the flock. He tends to follow me everywhere I go

Another station at the rear of the coop trailer. This one is frequented by the youngest pullets and cockerels, about 13 weeks.

Just wanted to show you where we store our feed, in a section of the Big Coop. With so many chickens, we make a feed run about once a month or 6 weeks. I have layer feed in one barrel (not in use at the moment), and Flock-Raiser for all age groups in the middle two barrels. Each one holds about 300 pounds, or six 50# bags. The blue ice chest is more rodent-proof, and contains our chick starter feed. Just right to hold one 50# bag. I have another barrel (not pictured) for scratch grains, and two smaller containers for grit and oyster shell.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I use "open trays" for feed too, under a canopy to keep dry but I lock it all up in the galvanized garbage can inside a locked little run at night so that I don't attract pests. Do you lock up your feed at night or do you leave it out overnight?

 

[3KillerBs]

I don't have photos of the current setup, but this is what I had before the new coop was built: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/an-outdoor-shelter-for-the-feeder-and-waterer.76487/

I'll have to take some photos the next time I'm out there. I had this station setup in the run in it's new location, but when I went into AI lockdown last winter I put both feeders and waterers into the coop.

 

[henless]

I've used this feeder for 3 or 4 years now. Easy to use, easy to clean and holds 50 lbs of feed. The clear tote makes it easy to see the feed level.

My waterer is a 5 gallon bucket with nipples. I have 10 chickens right now and the water lasts about a week before I have to refill it. Here it is sitting on my cookie tin water heater.

I'm a diy kinda person. I've noticed now a lot of the farm stores have feeders/waterers using the nipples or pvc type of feed ports. But they are very expensive, at least to me. Anything I can use that helps me with the feed/care of my chickens I'm willing to try and see how it works.

 

[DickMidnight]

my water setup is a 6ish gallon bucket with a gamma lid and horizontal nipples. we have a gutter and downspout on the coop/run that fills a rain barrel. i mostly fill their water bucket from that, but occasionally i use the hose.

their feeder is the red house looking thing. the top is on a hinge and opens up. it holds 60lbs, which lasts 2-3 weeks in the winter and a month in the summer.

i’m changing it out this winter for a feeder that works the same way but takes up less floor space since we’re looking to add 3-4 chickens to the flock.

 

[TX Chick Noob]

For feeders I have three VFeedr. I love them, they hand in the wall, hold 5 lbs of food each, are easy to fill, food stays clean dry and doesn’t get kicked out/wasted. Also easy to take down and clean when needed.

For water I have two 4-gallon waterers with cups. I have them up on blocks but also hooked to the wall to prevent falling over. And especially during the summer I add another standard waterer. Some people say the cups are hard to clean, but the way these screw in I just hit the lever to add a little water, swish it around with my finger and then turn the cup about 45 degrees to pour it out and then turn back upright.

 

[jreardon1918]

Let's see what everyone is doing to feed and water your flocks! Show & tell - what works best, what do you hate about it, how do you change it for winter or summer? How much effort does it take to maintain? How much did it cost? PHOTOS are a must!

PVC feeder is no waste. It holds about 7-10 days of pellets for our 8 hens and pullets. Mash at some times of the year.

5 Gallon HN bucket. Fill it with one gallon containers. Under the coop prevents the hens from sitting on it. There is GFI outlet just above for keeping the water from freezing in the winter.

Rabbit feeder attached to the HW cloth, to dispense Grit & oyster shell.