How to hang a galvanized bell waterer?

My girls kicked so much of their pine shavings into their waterer, that it looked like oatmeal an hour after cleaning and refilling. So, I got one of those automatic watering founts. I LOVE it!

http://www.amazon.com/Pint-Poultry-Automatic-Waterer-Fount/dp/B001L66H6S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337811748&sr=8-1

I've put a gutter on the run which drains into a rain barrel, and connected it to the waterer with a short hose. The waterer easily hangs on a chain from the rafters of the run. Not only don't they get it full of litter any more, I don't have to go down there and fill their waterer twice a day. Prior to getting the automatic waterer, I kept a regular waterer up on blocks with one block in front as a step leading up. I'll use it again in the winter when I have to shut off the waterer.

alyscr1913,  i'm looking for a waterer.  this is the first i've like the looks of.  you're able to keep it filled w/ gravity feed from your rain barrel?  is this something a person could rely on if they were gone a few days?

You could definitely go out of town with this thing. It was set up last Friday and I keep checking just to make sure it's working. It hasn't failed yet. Every time I look in the bowl, it's full of water!! The girls seem to like it much better than the traditional waterer because it's deeper and, I guess, because it doesn't fill up with litter. The bowl is spring loaded, so that when it's empty, the bowl rises and the water comes out of the brass "fount", filling the bowl. As the bowl becomes heavy with water, it lowers until the water fount shuts off at a level that you predetermine. When the chickens drink the water and lighten the bowl, it rises again, turning the fount back on, refilling the bowl. The bowl comes off easily with a 1/4 turn if you ever want to empty it out or clean it.

We built a stand for the rain barrel to keep it about 2 feet off the ground to be sure gravity feeding isn't a problem, and used a plastic strap to secure it to the hen house wall. It's not going anywhere. We wanted a system to check the amount of water in the barrel to make sure the girls don't ever run out,. So, we created a floating "dipstick" using one of those toilet tank float balls with a small pvc pipe inserted into it. We capped the pipe on the top to hold in the air, and cut a hole in the top of the barrel for the pipe to come out. As the water level lowers, the toilet float ball takes the PVC pipe down, which we've marked with 1/4 full and E (empty). It's really pretty cool.

Believing in my ex-husband's saying, "Work smarter, not harder", I've also got one of those Pullet Shut automatic chicken doors that's solar powered and photo sensitive; it opens automatically when the sun rises and closes when the sun sets, long after the girls are asleep.

I also built a drawer under their roost that I call the "Poop Deck". It's covered with a vinyl flooring remnant and holds pine shavings. When the girls roost at night, their poop lands in the drawer. When it's time to clean out the hen house, I pull the drawer out (on the outside of the house) with a handle, shovel the shavings into a bucket and carry them to the compost pile. It makes cleaning a breeze. Plus. I put a simple hook and eye lock on the outside of the drawer just to be sure no critters find their way in.

All I have to do now is figure out a way to get a gutter to deliver the eggs directly into my refrigerator without me having to go to the hen house in the cold.

I call it my automatic, self-operating chicken coop. :)

hey, i just ordered the chicken waterer.  i'm excited to get it.  i'm going to have to study your words better to figure out how you did the pvc water level indicator.  i'm going to install a pvc feeder in the next few days. 

i seriously want/need an automatic door.  one problem i'm facing is my studs are only on 12" centers.  the doors require 16 inch centers from what i understand.  maybe hubby can figure it out.  he's pretty good at things like that (when he wants to).

we're going out of town for six days in a couple of months.  i want these bugs worked out so i can relax knowing my babies are safe and sound.  i'll only need to have someone check on them, but i won't have to depend on someone coming twice a day & doing all the chores.

i wonder with these automatic doors if there is a problem w/a stray chicken getting locked out.

has any one tryed the water nippels for pvc pipe 32 for one water seems high when nippel is only 1.20 and 1 inch pvc pipe is much.

~~ i'm going to have to study your words better to figure out how you did the pvc water level indicator. ~~

I'll take a photo and post it tonight. It's really pretty simple once you see it.

~~ i seriously want/need an automatic door.  one problem i'm facing is my studs are only on 12" centers.  the doors require 16 inch centers from what i understand. ~~

According to the Pullet Shut Automatic Chicken Door Company's website, "The opening is 11" wide by 15" tall.  Cut this size opening in your coop.  The door mounts on the outside so the opening does not need to be perfect". It even provides an installation video.

http://www.chickendoors.com/products.htm

~~ i wonder with these automatic doors if there is a problem w/a stray chicken getting locked out. ~~

I've found my sensor to be very light sensitive. The door doesn't shut until it's almost entirely dark outside. They recommended that I move it under the eave, which has helped a little. So, my girls have generally been nigh-night for 45 minutes before the door closes. However, the door has a system that causes it to reopen 1 minute after it closes to accomodate any last minute stragglers. It closes again within 30 seconds or so to give them time to hurry in.

I have nothing but wonderful things to say about it, and it's worth every dime I spent on it.

That's the Martha Stewart of poultry organization!

Here are some shots I just took of my rain fed automatic watering system. Unfortunately, I had to stand down hill (I *did* say I live in the moutains, didn't I?) to take the photos, and it's late in the day, so I hope they came out all right.

This is the waterer I got at:  http://www.amazon.com/Pint-Poultry-Automatic-Waterer-Fount/dp/B001L66H6S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337901933&sr=8-1

This is the rain barrel feeding it. It's raised to allow for proper gravity feed and strapped to the hen house. You can see the PVC "dip stick" sticking out of the barrel to measure the water level. Inside the barrel, the PVC is stuck into a toilet float ball for bouyancy. The top of the PVC dip stick is capped. The green stick holding it in place is a flower support stake from the garden that's been stapled to the wall. The gutters went in today to feed it with rain water.In case of drought, I'll refill the rain barrel with the hose. No more filling a plastic waterer twice a day, minimum!

Just a little mountain ingenuity. I had the ideas, and my friend, a builder, made them work. A few eyerolls, a couple of trips to the local hardware store, and he had it all figured out. Of course, the entire town thinks I'm nuts, but my girls are happy and living the high life