Looking for solutions: feeding and watering

[Kidwantschickens]

So when all is said and done we will have 12-13 adult he s. I would like to make this as efficient as possible so if we want to have 2-3 days away or late nights or busy weekends (all common)that the chickens aren't adding to my stress.

So I would really like a 10+ gallon waterer so I don't have to fill it every day, and a feeder that can hold at least a week's worth of feed. When they are older I figure we will need a 50# bag of feed every 3 weeks.

With that what is the best and most economical way to do this?

I've thought about 2 5 gallon buckets (have poultry nipples on the way) but that will be a disaster In the winter.

I've thought about a bucket feeder with the 90 degree angle PVC. Does one allow for 12 chickens to feed if there are only 4 holes?

Sometimes DIY isn't cheaper, would it be better to buy something? I've seen a 12g waterer for 69 or so. Seems like two buckets with 4-6 nipples each would be way cheaper.

Tips? Ideas? Something that can hold 10+ gallons of water?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

12-13 hens are expected, on average (does anyone have one of these "theoretically average" birds???? Like having 2.3 children, the answer is NO!), to consume about 3.25# of feed daily, seasonally variable, and affected further by state of molt, broodiness, a host of other factors. But anyhow, that equates to roughly 50# every two weeks.

A pair of bucket feeders would do the trick. Once feed is free choice, the sort of fighting over food access you see on restricted feeding largely goes away. Alternatively, you could use a larger bucket - a food grade 55 gallon barrel with a removable, resealable top and more elbows. Locally, I can pick one up for $40 (about 6x the cost of a 5 gal bucket and lid)

A second one for gravity fed watering using poultry cups. If combined with a rainwater collection system, your water refill needs may be reduced to near zero, depending on climate. What it WILL NOT do is address persistent cold. That requires some form of heater and likely a continuous loop system. Moving water doesn't freeze until it all freezes, which can significantly delay the inevitable.

Unfortunately, I can't offer more guidance than that - your climate is part of why I don't live in Montana. Too _ _ _ _ cold for me. So theory here, no practical experience in those conditions.

 

[Kidwantschickens]

12-13 hens are expected, on average (does anyone have one of these "theoretically average" birds???? Like having 2.3 children, the answer is NO!), to consume about 3.25# of feed daily, seasonally variable, and affected further by state of molt, broodiness, a host of other factors. But anyhow, that equates to roughly 50# every two weeks.

A pair of bucket feeders would do the trick. Once feed is free choice, the sort of fighting over food access you see on restricted feeding largely goes away. Alternatively, you could use a larger bucket - a food grade 55 gallon barrel with a removable, resealable top and more elbows. Locally, I can pick one up for $40 (about 6x the cost of a 5 gal bucket and lid)

A second one for gravity fed watering using poultry cups. If combined with a rainwater collection system, your water refill needs may be reduced to near zero, depending on climate. What it WILL NOT do is address persistent cold. That requires some form of heater and likely a continuous loop system. Moving water doesn't freeze until it all freezes, which can significantly delay the inevitable.

Unfortunately, I can't offer more guidance than that - your climate is part of why I don't live in Montana. Too _ _ _ _ cold for me. So theory here, no practical experience in those conditions.

We don't get much precipitation.... That's my hesitation on the rain barrel. The cold isn't usually too bad. My parents are up in the mountains about 15 minutes from the coldest recorded temp in the lower 48... But I'm down in the valley and we don't usually see the same cold or snow. If we get an inversion it can be super cold...

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I have a rain fed 275 gallon food grade poly tote and a MUCH bigger flock than yours. Its never run dry, even with no rain for over a month - but that's a factor of the roof that feeds it. I collect rainwater on one side of my barn - 1" of rainfall will theoretically fill the whole tote from empty - and we average 1"+ per year.

I use a second one on the goat shed, which doesn't fill NEAR as quickly.

The big polytotes run me about $125 ea

 

[Weeg]

This-

And this-

Might do the trick.
With vacation in mind, I still think its always a good idea to have someone come check on them. Make sure everyone is good, water and feed are full, or at least have a coop and run cam of some sort.

 

[Kidwantschickens]

This-
View attachment 3120939

And this-



View attachment 3120941

Might do the trick.
With vacation in mind, I still think its always a good idea to have someone come check on them. Make sure everyone is good, water and feed are full, or at least have a coop and run cam of some sort.

This is pretty awesome. When we go out of town it's usually only for a day or two. Often I'm just crazy busy shuttling kids so if I can water and refill once a week and make kids check eggs, perfect. Don't get me wrong we spend a lot of time with them it's just that I don't want to be tied to 30 minutes every single day. Right now we seem to spend an hour or two with them every evening but we're still working on the run... I'll look into some different trash cans. I have one I can for sure use for food because they were horse grain containers.

 

[Weeg]

This is pretty awesome. When we go out of town it's usually only for a day or two. Often I'm just crazy busy shuttling kids so if I can water and refill once a week and make kids check eggs, perfect. Don't get me wrong we spend a lot of time with them it's just that I don't want to be tied to 30 minutes every single day. Right now we seem to spend an hour or two with them every evening but we're still working on the run... I'll look into some different trash cans. I have one I can for sure use for food because they were horse grain containers.

I totally get that.
Its easier when you can spend your time with then just hanging out and taking pictures as well. Not taking up all your limited time with then shuffling around doing chores. Not having to worry about that everyday makes it far less stressful.

 

[Wendy Bee]

So when all is said and done we will have 12-13 adult he s. I would like to make this as efficient as possible so if we want to have 2-3 days away or late nights or busy weekends (all common)that the chickens aren't adding to my stress.

So I would really like a 10+ gallon waterer so I don't have to fill it every day, and a feeder that can hold at least a week's worth of feed. When they are older I figure we will need a 50# bag of feed every 3 weeks.

Congrats on the chickens!

Over the winter we had a total of 16 chickens, and used two, 2 gallon buckets with 6 nipples on each. I reduced them down to 5 each, and really, 4 would probably do just fine. I really like the 2 gallon size - they aren't too heavy to carry and I found I needed to rinse and refill every 6-7 days. I have a posts HERE and HERE to show what I did, as well as pros and cons. I used bird bath deicers in each bucket during the Winter, and they worked great! Links to where I got those are at the linked posts.

Two x 5 gallons of water would last 12-13 chickens quite a long time, and besides being really heavy to lug from your water source, they would also give the water time to grow nasties. Five gallon buckets are also bulky to wash (we wash many 5 gallon buckets that have had Maple sap in them during Sugaring season), and in my opinion, chicken waterers really should be washed periodically.

Our chickens free range and do find rain water while out and about, but I do like to give their water buckets a good rinse and refill a minimum once a week, even if they don't need filling yet. In the winter, I'd give a soap and water wash about once a month. I'm guessing I'll need to do it more often in the summer (this will be the first summer with the buckets). I just kept a bottle of dish soap and a sponge handy next to the hose last summer to wash the gravity waterers we used then. With 9 pullets being added to the flock, I may find myself filling the 2 gallon buckets more often, or may choose to add a third bucket and time it so I'm not refilling more than two buckets at any one time.

With that what is the best and most economical way to do this?

I've thought about 2 5 gallon buckets (have poultry nipples on the way) but that will be a disaster In the winter.

I've thought about a bucket feeder with the 90 degree angle PVC. Does one allow for 12 chickens to feed if there are only 4 holes?

Sometimes DIY isn't cheaper, would it be better to buy something? I've seen a 12g waterer for 69 or so. Seems like two buckets with 4-6 nipples each would be way cheaper.

Tips? Ideas? Something that can hold 10+ gallons of water?

I originally thought I'd like a hopper-type automatic feeding system, but I've found that I like to spend a bit of time with the chickens in the evening, observing to see how everyone is doing and talking to them while I tend to their food and water needs as they snack on some scratch. I also like that I can place feeders in three different locations, ensuring that those lower on the pecking order always have access to a feeder.

After raking the deep litter into piles in the evening, I also will take an old large serving spoon and scoop some crumble out of the tops of the feeders and put in small piles onto bare places in the run. It gives the chickens something to do in the morning before I get to the run to let them out, or if they're stuck inside because of snow. I make ten or twelve small piles of feed for them to scratch and peck at. I don't find any feed is wasted - they seem to find it all!

Screw hooks in a beam/rafter with chain (or a chain made of zip ties) and an S hook is all that's needed to install. I adjust the height so that it's both comfortable for the chickens to eat and so that they can't kick wood shavings into the feed. I'll probably install alternate hooks in the rafters to move things around every now and then as a boredom buster.

Another plus to having 2 or 3 smaller feeders as opposed to a hopper type feeder is that you can keep an eye on the feed - is it moldy or spoiled in some way? You can keep extra feed in a sealed bin to keep moisture and vermin out, and fill feeders as needed.

I just use these feeders, which hold 7 lbs. of feed each:

Three for 24 chickens. I bought ours at Tractor Supply. I like that I can clean them periodically and it takes little time to fill them. If the chickens are stuck inside because of weather, I find myself refilling every 3-4 ish days (and they're not completely empty). (You can predict roughly how often you'll need to refill feeders by figuring each fully grown chicken will eat appx. 1/4 lb. feed per day.)

I bought a couple (one and a spare) of these flexible handle bins at Dollar Tree that hold several pounds of feed. They squish, funneling the feed into the tops of the feeders easily.

You'll find as you go that you'll learn and alter course on some things you thought you wanted, things that you learn you don't want, and some things that just work better than others. We're just about a year into our chicken journey and I'm feeling like I have a better handle on a balance between what I thought were ideals and what works best in our climate/topography/budget/practicalities/abilities to maintain.

Enjoy your new flock! Chickens are quite fun !

 

[jreardon1918]

At one time we had 7 hens. Using this system. Leaving for more than a couple days. Two would make sense. In the event one leaks out. The water bucket works year round with a submersible heater.

The feeder is a gravity one. The bowl at the bottom is a 6" endcap. Screwed in. Most of the main tube is 4" PVC. We replaced 3" with four inch to increase capacity. This setup is about 4' tall. It lasted at least a week when we had 7 hens. There is little waste as they need to reach in and really can't send much out to the ground.

 

[Kidwantschickens]

These are very helpful posts! Thank you everyone!

I'd love to see some more ideas if others are willing to share