chickens won't drink

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We read somewhere that they were probably bored so we hung old cds in the yard for them of course they were scared of them, I guess I will go put them back out. We are getting a bale of hay today for them to climb on. They have just turned 5 months old and are not laying yet, so we thought maybe we were stressing them out by adding things. We feed them laying pellets and I give them watermelon, tomatoes and grapes daily, some days they get extra stuff and each night my husband catches then grasshoppers. I hope I am doing things right. Just frustrated NO EGSS yet
 
The eggs will come when they are ready. Are they squatting yet? Are their combs and wattles getting red? Some birds (even in the same breed) just take longer to mature.

Glad to hear they are drinking again. And they should have fun with the hay!
 
I have a couple of old 1 gallon ice cream buckets. When it got really hot here this summer, I chopped up fruits and veggies that were on the edge of us wanting them, put them in the buckets, filled the buckets with water and froze in our deep freezer. Then on a hot afternoon, I tipped one into a steel pan that we have out there and took the bucket off. They LOVED it and kept cool.

I also use a mister (Cobra mister made by Orbit) out there to keep the area cool. I haven't started using my nipple waterer yet that we'll transition to this winter...waiting for it to cool off some more. I'm hoping that they transition to that well.
 
Yes some of their combs are red. We have 4 that have big red combs and waddles, and the rest are just starting to get theirs. I do not know what you mean by squatting
 
kellycyndic said:
Yes some of their combs are red. We have 4 that have big red combs and waddles, and the rest are just starting to get theirs. I do not know what you mean by squatting
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They'll squat down almost like they're pooping...but usually when you come up to them. Mine were laying and I didn't know it...they found one spot that they could stash eggs that we couldn't see without going inside the coop. We had to block that area off.
 
kellycyndic said:
That is a good idea, think I will try it. What are the nipple containers for and why change in the winter?
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We just didn't want to make the change while it was hot. We are using buckets that we're attaching the nipples to and they're supposed to keep the water cleaner. I think we'll keep the old fashioned kind IN the coop this winter since it won't drip, but I want some outside for them...at the height of winter, they may freeze solid before we can swap them out so we might have to come up with a heater of some sort for the outside water.
 
kellycyndic said:
Yes some of their combs are red. We have 4 that have big red combs and waddles, and the rest are just starting to get theirs. I do not know what you mean by squatting
Click to expand...

I had to go out on google to find a photo of squatting, that's probably the one picture I don't have, lol.


They kind of lower themselves down and flare their wings a bit. Some people say that's only a sign of submission and some say it show's they are close to laying.

With the red combs and wattles your 4 are showing, they're probably close to laying. Let us know when you get your first egg!
 

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