crealbilly
Songster
I'm on my second big hay round this year. Both my chickens and turkeys love eating it. I roll it out in there yard, they scratch, peck and eat it until its mostly nothing but small tiny peices.
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Couldn't agree more... no more fill and flip for this guy. I have a vertical PVC pipe nipple waterer that im abandoning though in favor of 5 gallon double walled waterer.
I like the double walled waterers best. I like the ability to be able to move it where ever i need it, they are very easy to fill and super easy to clean.
I tried the horizontal nipples, after a few days i had to abondon them also because the chickens and turkeys could not catch on to them. The were very happy to get there double walled waterer back and so was I.
http://www.strombergschickens.com/product/Double-Wall-Fount-8-Gallon-Capacity/1-7-gallon-founts
I have this waterer - the plastic handle broke off after the second fill and it spills water all over the place when your flipping it and will leak water if not perfectly flat...
Mrs. K I've read that about the water nipple issues in the cold as well. If they are not used all the time they will start to freeze up... A water tank heater isn't enough. And also if the water isn't providing enough pressure from above. I think you and I have different winters than some of the others. I keep meaning to ask my thread about what they've found for waterers...as I've seen some discussion on it here recently. Aart has me thinking....LOL.I don't heat mine, and went with black rubber and this what I have found, down to the high twenties, the black would absorb enough heat to keep the water open during the day, little ice on top at night. But below 25 degrees, and it would freeze pretty hard and the nipples would not work.
I dumped the water at dark, and carried down warm water in the morning. Once it got into the teens, I cannot use the nipples. I go to the smaller black rubber bowls. They will freeze solid by late afternoon.
I don't have electricity at my coop, which keeps me from having electrical fires. But only limited warm water for my girls. They seem to do fine.
Mrs K
I think those bases are good. I have a friend with one. She's in her 3rd year of chickens. I believe they want a pretty penny for them though.Any reviews here of heated water base? I pretty much decided heated base with double walled steel waterer is the route im going this winter. Although i am going to paint the outside of the waterer black and place it so it has southern exposure. l live in southern IL and can experience a couple of weeks were thw temps can drop into single digits (F) at night and not get above freezing during the day.
Thanks
We do bales of hay in the run in the winter too. They love scratching through it. I put Fall Oak Leaves in the run. And then let them tear into bales of hay and between the two they have a nice cushion of litter to keep the feet off the cold frozen black dirt (clay up here). They LOVE searching for seeds through it. I also have a few pine poles that are layed a foot or so off the ground from hay bale to hay bale. A place to roost for a bit and warm up toes. Hay bales are also nice place to sit in your Carharts and watch winter chicken TV.Yes, I do that too...Actually have some growing right now...Also alfalfa horse hay is great...Chickens and Ducks enjoy eating it...I hide some scratch or peas in the flake of hay and they peck away and scratch...Lessens the boredom of winter...My Ducks like alfalfa cubes soaked in water with tomatoes, peas, and raisins...
Cheers!
Yeah, the vertical nipples are a waste of time, pfft....and I use an aquarium heater that keeps the water about 65F....no foolin' around here!Mrs. K I've read that about the water nipple issues in the cold as well. If they are not used all the time they will start to freeze up... A water tank heater isn't enough. And also if the water isn't providing enough pressure from above. I think you and I have different winters than some of the others. I keep meaning to ask my thread about what they've found for waterers...as I've seen some discussion on it here recently. Aart has me thinking....LOL.
Yeah, the vertical nipples are a waste of time, pfft....and I use an aquarium heater that keeps the water about 65F....no foolin' around here!
Quote: Vertical nipples are much more likely to drip and make a wet mess than the horizontal nipples.
What kind are you using?
Vertical nipples are much more likely to drip and make a wet mess than the horizontal nipples.
What kind are you using?
What about a door on the coop. My coop that my husband bought was dissapointingly flimsy so he built it inside on one side of our tiff shed, cut a door, just put a perminent roof in the hen yard. Have tarp on west side & east side of yard to keep wind & rain out as much as possible. We did not put a door on the entrance to the coop. Do we need one? Is a door for safety or warmth? I do have straw in the coop & just upped the wattage of bulb to 150 for light and warmth. What do I need to do for door, really don't want to spend $200 for auto door. Live in Portland Oregon