We all know how messy our little chicks can be! Their water always seems to get soiled with shavings and litter, especially in the later weeks of being in the brooder. Well I came up with this simple hack that is cheap and effective!
Material List
-Basic chick fountain waterer with jar.
-Small glass or ceramic saucer or plate from the cabinet.
-Large glass or ceramic soup or cereal bowl, so that the waterer base can fit into just the top of bowl snugly. Make sure the base of bowl fits inside the bottom lip on the saucer.
The Setup
1.) Fill your brooder with your choice of bedding. (I prefer flake pine shavings)
2.) Place saucer on floor of brooder upside down in designated area. Use bedding to firmly pack under the saucer to keep them from scratching too much away, causing it to tilt over. Make sure the plate is sitting flat.
3.) Place your bowl on top of the plate.
4.) Fill waterer and place in the top of the bowl.
5.) Check to make sure everything is sitting level and not leaking.
6.) Then you're done! Put in the chicks and enjoy having clean water for much longer than you're used to!
Some Helpful Hints
Take a waterer base with you to Dollar Tree or Big Lots to find the bowl with the proper fit.
If you have a deeper saucer you can lay it flat on the bottom of the brooder before adding the bedding to make it very stable. Also putting the regular plate on the floor works well for 2 to 3 week olds who aren't throwing bedding that high yet.
One more hack, regular mouth glass mason jars will screw on to almost any brand waterer base!
By the way, the plates work very good for feeders as well!
