Chicks Kicking Shavings Into Water

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Coturnix Quail

Coturnix Quail

Songster
5 Years
Jul 3, 2016
673
301
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Hey! My chicks are about 9 days old now! I keep having this problem that's getting SUPER annoying. My chicks always kick their pine shavings into their waterer, and it gets the whole brooder wet!! I put a little container to keep the water in, but they keep kicking it and soaking it. I've elevated it even more with the lid of a shoe box, but that hasn't worked. I've moved the pine shavings away from the water but that hasn't worked!! I don't want to elevate it too high because I have 2 bantams. (If you were wondering, I have 11 chicks.) What should I do?
 
I use a waterer and feeder that hang from the ceiling instead of rest on the ground. That helps a great deal with reducing shavings in the feed and water.
 
So what am I supposed to do? I can't really make a hole in the waterer. It's one of those basic waterers, with a small lip, its holds one quart of water.
 
You are going to need to buy a larger waterer and feeder and the chickens grow so just buy it now and make sure to get the models that suspend from the ceiling.

Or you can get an automatic waterer that you can adjust. That's what I did so I don't have to worry about refilling it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AYFZ60/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

0.jpg
 
Here's a solution. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/957712/how-to-hang-a-chick-water-bottle

This us a practical solution using a conventional chick water bottle. You can then suspend it from the lip of the brooder or cut slits in the sides, and slide a stick through and suspend the bottle. You can adjust it for the size of the chicks.

Or you can go to the feed store and buy some watering nipples, and it takes about two minutes to install them on any old plastic bottle or ice cream tub you have lying around. These hang and the chicks learn to use them in a very short time when you remove the regular water bottle.
 
All good solutions, but maybe consider something like this. Use some type of tub as a waterer and put it in a platform that gets above the bedding. They can hop up on the platform. Sink the tub so it’s not too high. This is a standard winter waterer for the adults for me, the black rubber allows me to just knock the ice out if I need to and if it is in the sun it keeps water thawed pretty well. In summer I use white dog bowls and keep them in the shade. When I have chicks I put rocks in it so they don’t drown.

700


Chicks and chickens of any age are going to scratch. Keeping the feed and water raised really helps keep them clean. We use lots of different ways to do that.
 
azygous said:
Here's a solution. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/957712/how-to-hang-a-chick-water-bottle

This us a practical solution using a conventional chick water bottle. You can then suspend it from the lip of the brooder or cut slits in the sides, and slide a stick through and suspend the bottle. You can adjust it for the size of the chicks.

Or you can go to the feed store and buy some watering nipples, and it takes about two minutes to install them on any old plastic bottle or ice cream tub you have lying around. These hang and the chicks learn to use them in a very short time when you remove the regular water bottle.
Click to expand...
What she said. I use cord and tie a macrame hanger for my chick waterer. That can easily be suspended from a dowel inserted through the walls of the brooder. I like to hang it from a chain with an S hook. that makes it super easy to adjust the height as you will need to do so every day or so, b/c they grow so fast.

RR suggestion is ok for older birds, but not appropriate for chicks. Chicks are apt to fall into such a container and drown.
 
Last edited:
As I said, I put rocks in it, so they won't fall in it and drown. I’ve been using this system for a lot of years and never had one drown. Some people use marbles but around here rocks are free.
 
I hung my waterier like the fermented feeder on the left. I used a piece of 14 gauge wire taped on with painters tape and used another piece of wire to hang it by, for easy height adjustment. At 4 weeks I made the pitcher with horizontal nipples for the brooder. Now I have a 5 gallon bucket waterier and feeder in the coop. The waterier is not leaking the blocks were wet from rain.





 

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