Chick feeder - No waste

[DreamStone]

It's a people water bottle hung RIGHT SIDE UP, with a vertical nipple drinker in the bottom.  I have horiztal nipple drinkers, which are different, so I will put mine on the side of the bottle near the bottom. It will just depend on which style you buy.  Horizontal is nice, because it allows you to set the container down without smashing the nipples.

Full grown chickens do great with nipple drinkers!  Mine learned it as soon as I gave it to them.  (Lol, there is always a curious one in the bunch who has to check everything out.  Then the rest want a turn too.)  It didn't occur to me before now, that baby chicks could use the nipples.  If I can drag myself away from the computer, I am going to go right now and make one for them.

Exactly, I have mine drilled in the bottom of the bottle and I can refill it just by taking off the lid. (Leave the spout open to keep it from creating a vacuum seal)

Although, I ruined one water bottle because the bottom wasn't flat enough so it leaked.

 

[shorttimer]

Thanks so much for posting this thread! I read this thread yesterday and it took all of 5 minutes to rectify the problem. Blam, done. Not one visible wasted crumble to see. I also did the vertical nipple water bottle, hung upside down with a bicycle water bottle holder screwed to a piece of wood. I showed it to one chick right when I put it in the brooder. She caught on instantly and all 9 of them were on to it in less than 10 seconds. I think that chickens are way smarter than most dogs. These chicks are only 10 days old. Also they just went nuts when I tossed in some mealworms. I have to admit, I wish I hadn't waited till I was an old guy to have chickens. This the most fun I've had in ages and I've done a lot of fun things.

Only a week in and I can see that chicken math is going to lead me from town into the country.

 

[silkwormlady]

I did discover that the more I just put my hand in there, with crumbles in it, the more they got used to my hand. A couple of mornings ago, I boiled an egg, smashed it up, put some in my hand with crumbles .... Feeding frenzy!!! If one gets a big piece of egg, they'll scurry away with it. This sets off the "hunt her down" mode in others and the a rousing game a tag starts. Hilarious!
I have 9 chicks, 2 weeks old in a box that is just under 3 feet square. I can see they're gonna need to go out to henhouse soon

with their box, heat lamp back with it (using a 100watt bulb now) and room to move around in.

BOO HOO! I love having them in the house and have really noticed no problem with smell, dust ... Course, we live in the country, dirt and gravel driveway and road, dog in the house ... And I'd rather try to keep weeds outta my flower beds than do dusting in the house!! I am going to go with the vertical waterer. The standing kind is: gross and seems to not give good water flow into it. Next week: Tractor Supply - chicken wire and I'll probably buy the waterer unless its $$$. I'm not real handy and hubby will not apply his handy skills to this lil project.
Gonna send pics of chicks and henhouse onto BYC site soon.

 

[Finnie]

Thanks so much for posting this thread! I read this thread yesterday and it took all of 5 minutes to rectify the problem. Blam, done. Not one visible wasted crumble to see. I also did the vertical nipple water bottle, hung upside down with a bicycle water bottle holder screwed to a piece of wood. I showed it to one chick right when I put it in the brooder. She caught on instantly and all 9 of them were on to it in less than 10 seconds. I think that chickens are way smarter than most dogs. These chicks are only 10 days old. Also they just went nuts when I tossed in some mealworms. I have to admit, I wish I hadn't waited till I was an old guy to have chickens. This the most fun I've had in ages and I've done a lot of fun things.

Only a week in and I can see that chicken math is going to lead me from town into the country.

Welcome to chickens! I'm only 6 months in, and I can see it leading me from rural residential to actual country!

 

[Finnie]

Course, we live in the country, dirt and gravel driveway and road, dog in the house ... And I'd rather try to keep weeds outta my flower beds than do dusting in the house!!

This sounds just like me! Is there any way you can get a bigger box so they can stay in the house a little longer? I noticed when mine "graduated" to the 5 foot brooder that I have in my garage, I visited them a little less. Some of them still like me, and some seem to have forgotten... But they all like to take clovers and other treats from my hands. It's that copy cat thing I guess.

It is so hilarious to see them chase each other's food!

 

[silkwormlady]

Hi Finnie, how many did you put in the 5 ft brooder? I have 9 and know that too little space makes for unhappy chicks

 

[Finnie]

I have six chicks and two turkey poults in there. It was fine up to six weeks old, but now I can tell they need to graduate to outside. It's about 5 feet by 1 1/2 to 2 feet. I think 9 chicks with no turkeys would be fine, as long as they could go outside before they hit the 6 or 7 week mark. Which shouldn't be a problem this time of year.

My "brooder" box is made of 2x4s and 1/2" hardware cloth, and is actually the run for my baby coop. It's flipped upside down and lined with cardboard. When I move them out to the baby coop, I will clean this out and flip it back over and attach it to the coop. Then they will have about twice as much space, which should do fine until they are big enough to free range.

 

[yellowswirl]

I love the water bottle idea. My littles are so messy and I am changing the brooder box almost every day because they are spilling their water. Where' the best place to get the nipples for the waterer?

 

[lynnehd]

I love the water bottle idea. My littles are so messy and I am changing the brooder box almost every day because they are spilling their water. Where' the best place to get the nipples for the waterer?

You can get them on Ebay and on Amazon. Both the straight nipple waterers and the little cups with the lever that the chicken taps to let in more water.
My chicks also caught on quickly to these; I tapped the nipple waterer a few times to give them the idea.

 

[yellowswirl]

You can get them on Ebay and on Amazon. Both the straight nipple waterers and the little cups with the lever that the chicken taps to let in more water.
My chicks also caught on quickly to these; I tapped the nipple waterer a few times to give them the idea.

Awesome, thanks. I'm definitely gonna try these.