Where to put chicken feed and waterers

[AMA Chick]

Hi all... I'm very new to chickens! In fact, I don't actually have them yet, still planning the coop and will hopefully start on it tomorrow.
I'm wondering though, where do you put waterers/feeders? If you have an attached run? All inside the coop or just in the run or both?

Thanks!

 

[WI FarmChick]

I personally keep both mine in the coop. just my preference.

 

[GrandmaChickie]

We have ours outside in the run.

 

[Beekissed]

In the coop but will provide extra water outside in the summer.

 

[AMA Chick]

Thanks for answering! Obviously there's no clear answer!

 

[Beekissed]

It depends on many things...is your coop large enough to allow for the space of a feeder and waterer? Do you intend to free range or have them in a run? If you free range, will there be other animals in the same range? If so, they will be stealing your feed and water~other pets such as goats, dogs, sheep..even songbirds, squirrels, mice, etc. If in a run, the same thing applies...birds, squirrels, rats, etc. will be at your feed if you don't place it in the coop. Will your run be a covered run and will it be tall enough for you to walk into for refilling feeders and waterers?

If none of that matters to you, then leaving it outside is fine, as long as it doesn't get wet.

 

[VkyVky]

We have a 4 x 4 coop that is about 2 1/2 feet off the ground. The "feed station" is attached to the legs of the coop on one side. We just have to lift the lid to get to the feeder and waterer and it can't rain on the food.

 

[AMA Chick]

The coop itself won't be tall enough to walk in, the roof will raise up and a side will fold down.
The run will be pretty large, I think, and will be tall enough to walk in, 6' in some areas, a little taller in others. I have barn cats, so I will have to wait and see how much interest they show in the chickens before I decide if they will ever get to free range. I'm hoping they will get used to them to the point that I can let the chickens out, supervised, at some point!

I think there will be room for food in the coop, I'm having trouble visualizing it! My friend is building it for me, so he has the pan in his head.

There will also be an area that is covered, and I'm planning to have some places under there where they can get up high, and a doghouse there in case some chickens prefer that to the coop in the daytime.

So... Do you think I should have food/water in the coop and under the shelter but up on the roost they will have there? I definitely don't want to encourage mice! We have enough trouble with them at the barn already!

 

[Den in Penn]

Full grown cats give chickens too much trouble for the chickens to think of them as dinner. Oh you meant cats eating the chickens. Mine mock ambush the chickens to keep them on their toes, but that's it. But I've heard the chickens will keep the cats away from the cat's food till the chickens have eaten it. If you have a mouse problem you can hang the feeder by wire. Or you can use a treadle or dispensing feeder. There is also ration feeding, only giving them what them what they will eat in a day. Feed in or out what ever works for your setup.

 

[Zach123]

I prefer to feed outside, to help discourage mice in the hen house, though it doesn't keep them away 100%. Song birds I don't mind and squirrel tails are great for fly tieing haha. Mice still have gotten into the coop, mostly just in passing, but they are usually quickly dispatched by our patented, two legged, feathered mouse traps

. One time, when we had a guinea, she was just SCREAMING her head off so I went out there to see what the ruckus was all about. One of my hens had grabbed a snake by the tail while the snake had a mouse halfway down its throat. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen! It really is a personal preferance thing though.