Water & Food location

[Floyds Chicks]

Does my coop and run both have to have food and water in it? I need help and suggestions.

 

[Ridgerunner]

That is a good question but there is no one answer that is right for everyone. We all do it differently for our own reasons. I’ll try to touch on a few of them, but there are many I won’t mention.

Some people water in the coop to keep the water from freezing in winter or getting too hot from direct sunlight in the summer. Some people water in the run to keep water from spilling in the coop and getting it wet.

Some people feed in the coop to keep it away from wild birds. Some feed outside to not draw rodents like mice into the coop. Some feed in the coop to keep the feed dry, while others manage to keep it dry outside.

Some feed in the coop so they don’t need to open the coop up as early if they want to sleep in. Some trust that their run is predator proof and don’t worry about locking their chickens up at night.

Personally I feed and water inside as well as outside. I usually have a mixed age flock so I am often integrating. That goes better with separate feeding and watering stations. Also, in the winter I use black rubber tubs for water. Due to solar heating, those will stay thawed a lot longer if the sun is shining.

There is no right way or wrong way, just the way you choose.

 

[LPeaslee]

I have a 2ltr bottle with a poultry nipple screwed into the lid, placed in the coop. So far they hardly ever use it. I also had feed in the coop with the same result as the 2ltr bottle. They just go in the coop at night and roost.
I have my nipple wateing system in the secure run. I also have a feeder under a cover portion of my run.

I'll keep the 2ltr waterer in the coop for the "just in case" feel, but I basically followed what my chickens preferred.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Does my coop and run both have to have food and water in it?

Coop size is a factor in some cases. I personally feed only inside the coop. I water outside in summer and inside in winter.

 

[efalls]

I am also trying to make this decision right now. I think with a nipple system is would be quit simple to run a couple nipples inside and a couple outside, maybe feeding off the same res.

as for food, I will probably have commercial feed inside the coop and then feed their whiskey mash/table and garden scraps in the run. That will be the majority of their diet anyway.

 

[Hokum Coco]

I am also trying to make this decision right now. I think with a nipple system is would be quit simple to run a couple nipples inside and a couple outside, maybe feeding off the same res.

as for food, I will probably have commercial feed inside the coop and then feed their whiskey mash/table and garden scraps in the run. That will be the majority of their diet anyway. I do basically the same in the summer winter they are confined to the coop only.

For along time I used heater tape around a bucket with chicken watering nipples. It worked excellent. However me being me I neglected to change the water as often as I should. This is what it looks like and it thermostatically controlled to come on at just above the freezing temperature. You would have to wrap it to suit your particular application if it is viable for your set up. It is available at Home Depot in Canada.




Last year I switched to white rubber contains the wife found somewhere. The freeze solid every night but the ice just pops out of them in the morning and I replenish them with fresh warm water. They have black ones at the feed store that are similar but large than mine.

The chickens congregate around them like people having their morning coffee. The only draw back is my yard is pepper with small ice bergs the size of the buckets.

April looks after that however..

 

[efalls]

@ hokum doesnt that get really scummy and dirty? do they perch on the side or get a lot of dust in it?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Not if you dump the water daily. That's the system I use. I raise it up so they don't scratch much in it but yes, they can poop in it. But a daily emptying takes care of that. If the weather is really cold so it freezes up, maybe more than once a day.

 

[efalls]

This just seems like a step BACKWARD from the heated bowl and nipples she said she had before the tub. Im interested why the switch to the simple tub?

 

[Floyds Chicks]

I think I am going to use PVC nipple system for watering running it thu the coop and out side. I will post pic when it's done.