new to backyard chickens & would like some waterer/feeder suggestions

I use the standard metal feeder that hangs, and the waterers are put on cinder blocks to keep them from soaking the floor. Both large and bantam birds use them. As for keepign out mice, well, nothing is foolproof except my cat! Seriously, I used those tomcat mice traps and they work well as long as the chickens don't get the poison.

 

I wouldn't put them in the coop myself. Barring an outside light source and being disturbed as far as I can tell (fairly new to chickening myself) chickens won't move once they bed down for the night so they only need access to water/food when in the run/yard etc. My feeder hangs from the ceiling of run to keep them from scratching in it/knocking it over and the waterer is on a large wooden block and it is to large for them to knock over.

 

Quote:That might work in Austin but if you live where it gets cold/snows there will be days when your birds won't want to come outside. Also, if you only have food and water in the run and you lock the birds up at night you'd better get up early to let them out. Finally, having a food source outside is more likely to attract pests, not only mice and rats but wild birds that will bring in avian diseases. I hang a feeder in my coop and have two double-walled waterers inside up on bricks during the summer and galvanized heaters in the winter. Of course this is a 12 X 12 coop and 40+ birds. Also I store all my feed in rodent-proof garbage containers. Do I have mice? Yes, that is kind of a fact of life if you live in the country--have them in the house too but they give the cats something to do and if the chickens can catch them in the coop, it is a good protein source.

 

I agree, I have water indoors and out, year round, even if I have to tip out ice and replace the liquid. That's an electric heated dog bowl in the bottom pic- very satisfactory. I feed indoors, too, though I might offer a squash or pumpkin in the run.