Keeping bedding and poop out of the food and water

[Ccort]

My babies are still in the brooder but this has become a big problem. I started putting the water on bricks to elevate it but it still gets pine bedding in it. Meanwhile, the food gets poop in it. So first question....do I need to dump out the chick starter if it has poop in it?
Next...I am purchasing a nipple waterer to hang from the coop for when they move to a real coop. I'm hoping this will be a nice solution for the water. For a feeder, whats a good style for keeping food clean and not having to toss it out? I would like to hang the feeder as well since that seems like it would help.

 

[3KillerBs]

My babies are still in the brooder but this has become a big problem. I started putting the water on bricks to elevate it but it still gets pine bedding in it. Meanwhile, the food gets poop in it. So first question....do I need to dump out the chick starter if it has poop in it?
Next...I am purchasing a nipple waterer to hang from the coop for when they move to a real coop. I'm hoping this will be a nice solution for the water. For a feeder, whats a good style for keeping food clean and not having to toss it out? I would like to hang the feeder as well since that seems like it would help.

It's really quite impossible to keep chickens from ever ingesting poop.

Of course you don't want it filthy, but it's OK to pick the poops out of the feeder and throw them into the bedding then let them finish the feed.

Raise the feeder and the waterer to the level of the birds' backs and that will limit how much mess then can throw into it. You can also put a tote lid or some pavers under the feed and water so that the bedding is a little further away. Nothing is perfect, but that does help.

 

[rosemarythyme]

It's really quite impossible to keep chickens from ever ingesting poop.

Of course you don't want it filthy, but it's OK to pick the poops out of the feeder and throw them into the bedding then let them finish the feed.

Raise the feeder and the waterer to the level of the birds' backs and that will limit how much mess then can throw into it. You can also put a tote lid or some pavers under the feed and water so that the bedding is a little further away. Nothing is perfect, but that does help.

x2. I just pick out the poops in the feeder. As far as the waterer, poop in there obviously is undesirable as it floats around, so assuming you're using a gravity style chick waterer I'd dump out the soiled water that's in the base that they're drinking from, and I find that to be sufficient until the next waterer refill.

 

[southwestclucker]

When mine were still in the brooder and raising the waterer on bricks was not enough, I McGyvered one of those clear plastic salad containers. I cut it in half and cut more so that all that was left was a squared corner, if that makes sense...and I put the waterer on top of it with the remaining solid side pointing toward where they were kicking the shavings from. It helped a lot.

 

[blackdog043]

I put my food and water up on wood platforms, to keep the shavings out. The right side is fermented feed in the dish, could be mistaken for shavings from the pic.


I also hang stuff sometimes as they get bigger.

 

[TOPChickens14]

I put my food and water up on wood platforms, to keep the shavings out. The right side is fermented feed in the dish, could be mistaken for shavings from the pic.
View attachment 3069565

I also hang stuff sometimes as they get bigger.

View attachment 3069573

I love your setup!

 

[TOPChickens14]

My babies are still in the brooder but this has become a big problem. I started putting the water on bricks to elevate it but it still gets pine bedding in it. Meanwhile, the food gets poop in it. So first question....do I need to dump out the chick starter if it has poop in it?
Next...I am purchasing a nipple waterer to hang from the coop for when they move to a real coop. I'm hoping this will be a nice solution for the water. For a feeder, whats a good style for keeping food clean and not having to toss it out? I would like to hang the feeder as well since that seems like it would help.

There isn't much you can do other than elevate the feeder and waterer. You'll just have to clean it out often, it's a hassle but that's just what happens. And yes the nipple waterer for the hens is definitely going to help keep the water clean. I'm not sure if you're asking about the feeder for the coop (when the chicks grow up) in the last few sentences. If that is the case, in my experience they don't ever get much in their food. The adult hens will kick some bedding into the feeder. I have 2 gravity feeders and whenever I give my flock treats in the coop, they kick the straw around all over the place. I usually just pick the bedding out of the feeders the best that I can when this happens. I haven't tried using a different feeder system like a tote with a pipe elbow in it or those metal ones that keep out rodents. I bet those rodent-proof ones would work great to keep the hens from getting bedding in their feed.

 

[PopoMyers]

This second go round with chicks, I repurposed a hummingbird feeder, minus the flower cap, and hung it up. No spillage, very little shavings, and barely any poops in it, since they could not stand/run/wade on its tiny ledge.

 

[kerri304]

I put my food and water up on wood platforms, to keep the shavings out. The right side is fermented feed in the dish, could be mistaken for shavings from the pic.
View attachment 3069565

I also hang stuff sometimes as they get bigger.

View attachment 3069573

Hi! I came here to find a solution to my pullets roosting on and getting into the feeder - I think that PVC feeder looks like a great solution! would you please share how you made that? Thanks!

 

[blackdog043]

Sorry for taking so long, I don't have time to get on here as much as I used to. Here is my build article on the feeder.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/no-waste-chick-feeder-build.74823/