Food Bowl Full of Pine Shavings

[jgaepi]

My four-day old chicks seem to love to fill their food dish (the steel type with 8 small holes) with their pine shavings. I give them fresh food every morning and within an hour or so they have filled their holes up with pine shavings. I don't think they are starving so I assume they are pecking their food out. Any ideas?

The waterer seems to get filled with shavings as well but I perpetually keep cleaning it. I don't mind wasting water but I don't want to keep dumping their food and refilling it.

 

[kari_dawn]

I raise both my feeder and waterer on bricks in the brooder...helps keep shavings and poo out

 

[nurse_turtle]

Consider using rabbit water bottles. Maybe place some red tape around the end near the ball to help attract them. Mine took to the water nipples when only days old. No dirty water. Food bowl will need to be elevated.

 

[OvertheHenHouse]

Quote:
X2 -

 

[TheHalfWayCoop]

Ours did that too! We ended up suspending our feeders and watereres from the rafters, just high enough to keep them from being shaving target practice. I would love for ours to use rabbit waterers, but they just wont take to it, so if that's a possibility with yours, I'd go for it I think it makes things a lot neater!

 

[dickhorstman]

If you want to keep the feeder low, try a piece of plywood slightly larger than the feeder under the feeder.

 

[jgaepi]

So I propped up the food and water. Seems to help a little. Anyway to stop them from digging? One is so quick and powerful at it that it launches shavings out the top of the brooder.

 

[kari_dawn]

nope, not really...chickens will be chickens

 

[hollyk]

They still kick stuff up into the water and feed, but a 2X6 square really does help. Once my chicks move from brooder box to brooder house (about 2 weeks of age) I place the water up on a platform that they jump up on to drink. This is the only way to keep the water clean that I have found.

 

[kari_dawn]

Quote:
Me too. I have a cinderblock platform for my feeder and waterer.