water/feeder in coop or run???

[dreamer81]

Should the water and food be in the coop or in the run???

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some people have them in the coop, some in the run, and some in both places. There is no one right place that works for everyone while any other choice is wrong. They all can work. Your management techniques have a bit to do with what is best for you, also your weather and coop size.

If you always let your chickens out pretty early instead of leaving them locked in the coop for a lot of the time, outside should work, unless the weather is so bad they can’t go outside to eat and drink. If they can’t go outside, then food and water should be inside. Hopefully you have room.

Some people water outside because they worry about the coop becoming wet if water is spilled. Some people water inside to keep the water from freezing or to keep it out of the hot sun so it is cooler.

Some people feed outside to help keep rodents out of the coop. Some people feed inside to try to keep wild birds from eating so much of the feed or to keep the feed dry. Some feed outside to reduce the poop load in the coop. The more time the chickens are inside, the more they poop inside so you have more poop to deal with.

I have food and water both inside and different places outside. I often have younger chickens that I am integrating. Multiple food and water stations helps with integration, giving the younger ones a place to go for food and water so they don’t have to challenge the older chickens. With a large coop and food and water inside, I don’t have to rush down there early every morning to let them out.

There are a whole lot of other reasons people do this the way they do that I didn’t mention or don’t know. It just depends on your unique situation and personal preferences.

 

[jetdog]

I have food inside and outside, water outside until winter then it comes in and without the wind chill it's easier to keep it thawed.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Should the water and food be in the coop or in the run???

There is no right or wrong answer to this question. I personally have my feeder inside all year long. My waterer outside in spring summer & fall. Inside during the winter.

 

[Aban]

is there a better watering system for inside vs outside?

 

[jetdog]

I personally like the horrizontal nipples in a bucket, they don't leak or drip so no wet mess and no added moisture to the coop.

 

[Nocila]

It doesn't make much difference for the food, but with the water, I'd say keep it inside, if you have a concrete flooring, but otherwise, leave it outside as much as possible to avoid a rotting floor. Our old coop was raised, and had a wooden floor, and within five years, the floor rotted, and fell through, but now, in our new coop, we have a cement floor, and keep the food and water inside all day.

 

[Aban]

It doesn't make much difference for the food, but with the water, I'd say keep it inside, if you have a concrete flooring, but otherwise, leave it outside as much as possible to avoid a rotting floor. Our old coop was raised, and had a wooden floor, and within five years, the floor rotted, and fell through, but now, in our new coop, we have a cement floor, and keep the food and water inside all day.

we are doing a concrete floor in the new coop...do you just leave it concrete or are you adding anything on top of it? I have read alot about the flooring and doing things that only require cleaning it out 1or 2 times a year...that seems like it would be really really messy.

 

[Aban]

I personally like the horrizontal nipples in a bucket, they don't leak or drip so no wet mess and no added moisture to the coop.

do you know if it can be used with a rain barrel? and have you ever tried the watering cups? someone said that the nipples are better if I had trained my chicken from babies to use them.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

we are doing a concrete floor in the new coop...do you just leave it concrete or are you adding anything on top of it? I have read alot about the flooring and doing things that only require cleaning it out 1or 2 times a year...that seems like it would be really really messy. 

I have a concrete floor and over it pine shavings and straw. Maybe ten inches of bedding? Builds up because every month or so I add a fresh bag of shavings or a fresh bale of straw.

The daily routine is to pick up the droppings I can see, especially under the roost, with a horse manure fork, then with same fork I rake and fluff the rest of the bedding. I also pick out any food spilled or left, lettuce leaves, bread etc. They fluff their own bedding too by scratching etc. It doesn't smell, looks clean and healthy, pretty low maintenance. I guess once or twice a year a full empty and fresh bedding is called for, but this coop was just built in the fall.