Best feeder and antifreeze waterer

[ameraucana 25]

My chicks are getting close to going out their coop and I don't have a feeder or waterer what would you guys recommend in the winter the temp can go below zero I would like a anti spill and pest free feeder Thanks

 

[Al Gerhart]

Best feeder for poults, right? Feathered out chicks. Can't go wrong with the translucent white waters on the red screw on bases. They will kick litter into the water, a quick slosh cleans it out.

Feed, at that age just use a cake pan. They need to be a lot larger to use a regular feeder.

 

[ameraucana 25]

For past chick stage and coop ready

 

[Debbie292d]

We have several coops and found the easist thing for food was the DIY 5-gallon buckets with PVC ports. I'm sure you could make shorter ones. We bought the ports on Amazon and they came with the hole drill.

For water, they all have either the 5-gallon DIY horizontal nipple buckets or the heated 3-gallon ones. Our coops are all heated to 40F in the winter, but the outside ones won't fit in their mini-coops/growout pens so have to have the electric ones there. We put a dribble of RV freshener in those so no algae grows. These nipple buckets are nice as no open water so they don't cause humidity issues, plus every sip is fresh and clean.

In a pinch, we bought a $10 aquarium heater and a thermo cube (kicks power on at 35F and off at 45F) in an icecream pail we had to use. It worked!

 

[ameraucana 25]

pest free?

 

[Al Gerhart]

For past chick stage and coop ready

Once your pullets are at least four pounds, if you are dealing with rodents or wild birds, a treadle feeder is the best feeder. You do not need one until you need one though.

The other issue is feed waste where again a treadle feeder is the best feeder. Look for an inward swinging door with tall sides so the hens can't sling feed out the side. Avoid the ones that require a hen to reach way up inside the front of the feeder, a recessed feed tray is what I am trying to describe. They will have to reach in two to three inches but past that the feel uncomfortable as a prey species being blind to threats while eating. There also needs to be a half inch lip protruding into the feeder hopper, horizontally, to prevent feed raking for 95% of the hens. And it needs to have an optional feeder lip extender available for that last 5% of hens that are raking queens.

Just do your research online and avoid sites that claim to review the best feeder and have affiliate links leading back to Amazon or a manufacturers websites. Those are earning commissions and they recommend the feeder that pays the best. Pay close attention to the negative reviews. There will be plenty of crazy people unwilling to follow instructions or even read about a product before they buy but you are looking for reviews stating the rats or wild birds or squirrels were able to use the feeder. The Karens and Chads that complain about shipping or stupid things like "Oh, possums can still steal the feed" can be easily identified.


Waterers, the red nipple waterers on a bucket set on a large round cookie tin with a 60 watt light bulb works for me. Thermostats are great but a 60 watt bulb will prevent freezing for most of us, only fails when the bulb burns out (poke a hole in the side to act as a pilot light), and is cheap to install and easy to fix.

 

[ameraucana 25]

Thanks but I am going with coop Worx

 

[tigger19687]

Heated dog bowl on cinderblocks