New waterer and feeder! (And slight troubles w/waterer)

[21hens-incharge]

I think the neck height is because the water comes out in droplets and is easier for them to get in the beak that way. Lower then that and they miss most of the water they release.

Your hens seem to be very interested in it so will surely figure out that the silver part gives the water.

I would leave the regular water dish until you can raise the new a little higher and then make sure everyone knows how to use it.

Sometimes well meaning people miss the mark a bit but it is best since no harm was done to tell them thank you.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Ahhh okay, that makes sense! Definitely don't want to waste water or for any birds to get dehydrated! I did manage to find another block of wood after this but it's still not quite high enough or stable enough for my liking so maybe I will invest in something.

But yeah, they are definitely interested! And even later on in the day the Australorps were figuring it out!

But yeah, I will get something to raise it properly ASAP and then let them figure it out. Most seem to have the hang of it already or almost. Maybe I could find a smaller buckey and use the extra nipple and mount it on the wall? Kinda hard with the chain link though. Maybe I'll just get paver stones or something.

And that's very true! I'll do that

 

[Jensownzoo]

And the barred rock usually leads the way i have noticed, in fact, free ranging yesterday, she tried to head in the woods a few times and slowly some others followed then when she decided to come back and half flew to this one section, everybody followed. Leading them to trouble and misbehavior

In my flock of four week olds, the on barred rock and three Dominiques are the boldest and most curious of the bunch, so yeah, troublemakers! But, they're also the ones that don't mind me picking them up too much, so there are benefits to it too.

 

[swbradley]

Sometimes I use a heat gun on the waterer hole before screwing the nipple in. It helps me get it completely threaded in without drilling the hole bigger.

Good luck!

 

[ShrekDawg]

In my flock of four week olds, the on barred rock and three Dominiques are the boldest and most curious of the bunch, so yeah, troublemakers! But, they're also the ones that don't mind me picking them up too much, so there are benefits to it too.

Aw yeah, my Barred Rocks (when I still had the other) and the Easter Eggers were the boldest and most adventurous even from day 1! Now the EEs are the most skittish or fastest at least. The Orpingtons are friendliest in terms of once I catch them they sometimes relax (one in particular, one is in between, one is a jerk xD) but still try to run. The Barred Rock is very bold and comes right up to me but I cant hold her usually. The Australorps just kinda do their own thing. They all mob me when I come near or in their run though, they just get nervous and flighty when I try to touch or hold one because I've caught them so many times. With time I'm hoping they chill. Yesterday one of the Orps let me hold her for what must have been at least 10 minutes! I was trying to get them all back inside, got half in, 3 escaped again, she didn't. I actually had managed to catch her, put her in the coop, and lock the door (I,was planning to lock them up and let the others come in on their own) but she was crying so I opened the door and picked her up and footballed her. She was calm. Then squatted down. She stayed on my leg. Not even restrained. And the run door was wide open!!! One or two of her friends even came in and left but she stayed then I went, with her in hand, and sat on a stump, and she just stayed on my leg and was pecking debris off my leg xD she tried pecking my hair and almost my eyes a few times but I stopped her. But she was just wandering around on my legs while I was talking to her the whole time. I even tried telling her she could go hang out with her friends and she didn't have to hang with me and turning so she could see her friends, thinking she just maybe didn't know where they were, but she stayed! Then finally she hopped off! But really slowly!! And meandered away. It was so weird!!! But also amazing! I was telling her what a pretty girl she was and how I thought she was the prettiest and to not tell the others (who were behind me a bit and probably heard xD) so maybe she just liked being complimented

 

[ShrekDawg]

Sometimes I use a heat gun on the waterer hole before screwing the nipple in. It helps me get it completely threaded in without drilling the hole bigger. 

Good luck!

That's a good idea! Wish I would have thought of that :/ thanks for the help though! May use this on the next one so far this one is holding up though

 

[Jensownzoo]

Yeah apparently it just clicked in their bird brains earlier this week that I was the food-giver and treat-distributor. They were all pretty flighty before. Now they come running to my side of the brooder. I'm working on training them all to be picked up right now. I hold my hand down as if I were going to give them a treat and when they come to investigate, I slide it under their keel and lift up, using my other hand to both hold the wings from flapping and petting their neck. When they're calm, I set them back down. The BR and Doms are doing the best at the training...the White Rocks are going to take some serious work. I have BOs, New Hampshire Reds, and Golden Buffs besides.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Yeah, mine figured it out just recently, maybe a couple weeks or a month ago now (time flies xD ) when i started giving BOSS and corn frequently lol and oh that's a good idea! I sort of almost lost interest and didn't spend much time with mine and i kinda regret it :/ i dont think lost interest is really the right word but i tend to be really into things at first then not so much or come back to it later so they were really cute then i didnt spend any time with them (though i was still interested at that point so not sure why) then now im with them a lot. I should have spent time with them when it mattered haha when i did, i was chasing them a lot. Next babies I'm gonna spend a lot of time with them. Though I'm wondering if this tactic may still worm with a little bit older birds? Gonna be 17 weeks Monday. I also have been letting them go when they start flapping half cause i cant contain them and half cause I don't wanna hurt them

 

[Jensownzoo]

If you let go when they're still flapping, you've just taught them that flapping will get them released and they'll flap even harder the next time. That's why I wait until they give up and are calm before putting them back down. Reward only the behaviors that you want to promote! And yes, chickens can be trained at any age, it's just a little easier to do it before they develop any behaviors that they then have to "unlearn" first!

 

[ShrekDawg]

That actually makes a lot of sense! And you know, it's actually sort of funny because I'm really into dogs and dog training and stuff too, at least with my own, (haven't done it in a while though, gotta start again), especially the positive and behavior science bits and stuff, and I sort of knew that for dogs, like for example how if they juml and you yell at them, that is still attention that they want and will do it more so to ignore them totally, etc. Yet I never thought of applying that to chickens xD I'm going to try that! Extermination, from what I've read, can be really powerful! Really hard because if you do it even once every 100 times it still gets reinforced and they keep trying, but powerful if you can actually manage to 110% stop reinforcing it, so I think I will try that! And try to pick up training the dog again! Harder with him though causw my dad thinks practically every rule is mean and lets hkm get away with nearly everything!!!! Or enforces it once, gets mad another time! Like play biting or jumping up, paws on shoulder, and kissing him. One second or day it is cute and funny and next time he wonders why he keeps doing it!!!!! Anyhow, sorry to ramble, but yes, definitely harder to unlearn behaviors than to do it right from the beginning! Especially because at least with my dog, he will test you to see if you mean it. Even if he knows it. For example, a long time ago I taught him to stay out of the kitchen when we eat and he gets something at the end. I stopped enforcing it all year and inconsistently enforce it now. He gets up and comes in numerous times before settling. He's better now and if I tell him down he will stay. Unless something more interesting happens. But if I just tell him out and not to lie down he will come in. But the first few times I started reinforcing it, he would get up and come in soooo many times until finally he realized I meant what I said and now he will stay. Again, we still have issues with staying when more interesting things come up but we always have. And the interesting thing too is he will run straight to my dad or brother who never did it (and brother has different ideas for when and how long it should be, unfair even) so when they enforced it he took it way more seriously. But now that brother is back at school so when I try to get the dog back put, he does laps around the kitchen and runs straight to my dad WHO THEN PETS HIM.