Best feeder and waterer???

[Molliep2]

I am going to be getting my first flock of chickens really soon and am preparing and getting everything ready. I am having a hard time figuring out what feeder/waterer to get or perhaps diy? I would appreciate any suggestions, thank you!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

How many birds are you planning to feed and water? How many feed and water stations do you want to have a? How often do you want them to need to be filled?
There is no one size fits all answer to this as the questions above and others are some of the variables that may be need to factored into that .
My personal preference is a "closed" watering system one that uses nipples or cups or other dispensing outlets where the water itself is entirely enclosed inside of a bucket. This type of water station prevents fouling of the water from bedding and also limits the amount of water being spilled or leaked into the environment. Excess moisture can lead to different issues that are better avoided.
When it comes to features my preference is a feature that prevents billing of feed by the birds or other spillage that leads to waste and potential pest attracting problems.My current feeder is a tub with PVC elbows going into the feeder for the birds to access the feed. Other features that can help prevent pest access such as the treadle feeder are nice, but one must consider whether they will be feeding a mixed flock where very small young birds may not have sufficient weight to activate the treadle and gain access to the feed. The treadle feeders also do not generally addressed the issue of the birds themselves spilling feed out of the feeder as they dig around in it once they've activated the treadle.

 

[SavKel&RynKel]

Oh boy, where to start... First it depends what your flock will look like. If you start off young i suggest you buy, but once they are older my vote is mostly diy. We bought cup waterers and one float waterer, but havent tried the nipples yet. Installing the waterers to a bucket requires only a small amount of thread tape, where our pvc system required a decent amount of pvc glue. The non-float cups are nice because the chickens have to press to drink, so they only press out what they need. We do the y pipe pvc feeders, those are about as simple as it gets in my opinion.

 

[meetthebubus]

if/when babies get those really small feeders they offer at most feed stores, they were the best for me, diy is usually more messy with the baby chicks.

after about a month or so of age they will need regular feeders/waterers i like the basic waterers from Tractor supply for the summer i use a metal drink dispenser 1 gallon size with a plastic spout that you can drip out and they drink from the spout and the cool their feet in the puddle it makes.

for feeder i use a plastic animal dish that i get at walmart that they market for horses despite its small size that is antimicrombial love those, my chickens hate the typical feeder

 

[kwhites634]

I am going to be getting my first flock of chickens really soon and am preparing and getting everything ready. I am having a hard time figuring out what feeder/waterer to get or perhaps diy? I would appreciate any suggestions, thank you!

There used to be a thread on here called "Show me your feeders"; I found this one there. It's made from 4" PVC, and really simple. The length of the vertical piece, is determined by how much clearance you need to fill the tube in a covered run. I didn't glue any joints so I can break it down for cleaning. There's a rubber cap over the top end, a PVC cap on the feed chute to keep vermin out at night, and an extension (4" long, if I recall) in the feed chute to keep the chickens from scattering feed all over the ground. This design eliminates about 95% of the feed waste; I haven't found one yet that hits 100%, although some claim to.

This one is in a covered run, with the opening away from the prevailing wind to keep the feed from getting wet. Where there's no overhead protection, a wooden or plastic "roof" could be fashioned over the feed port. With my normal complement of 7 lf birds, it'll hold a 3-4 day supply of feed, depending on how much free range time your birds have.

 

[GC-Raptor]

My setup in the coop. . 2 gallon waterer, 12# feeder and a 40 oz pail for Oyster Shells.
Under the raised coop. . A 60 oz pail for water and a 40 oz pail for Granite Grit.
The under coop water pail gets emptied nightly and refilled early and midmorning.
All others are easily good for a week for 5 hens.
They make the waterer and feeder in larger sizes too. GC

 

[jreardon1918]

I have a 5 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples for water. The feeder is a PVC feeder. There is picturein my coop article. They both have worked out. I may expand the top of the feeder to allow for greater capacity.

 

[Mr Pink]

Just redid my water system ... as I have water ran to coop and greenhouse I installed a toilet float bucket and automatic cups so far is working out sweet , no more stretching the garden hose out to fill nipple bucket every day !

 

[Stephine]

I love this for chicks
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0...le+waterer&dpPl=1&dpID=31L3kyxdUgL&ref=plSrch
and this for the big girls
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0...F8&qid=1523599165&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65, paired with a 5 gallon cooler - especially good for keeping water cool in the heat.
Also these cups as extra water for days over 90:
https://www.dineachook.com.au/products/Lubing-Drinker-Cup-%2d-Buy-3-Cups-get-1-FREE-%2d-BLUE.html
screwed i to a regular food safe bucket.
Best feeder for chicks:
https://www.chickenwaterer.com/BriteTap-Automatic-Chick-Chicken-Feeder-p/chick-feeder.htm
Adjust the roof so chicks can’t climb o to the feeder. Set feeder on an overturned saucer, bowl, flowerpot etc to adjust height. Once they start knocking this over switch to this:
https://www.cheshirehorse.com/littl...MItKio_8q22gIVgrrACh2DAQELEAQYFSABEgJm-PD_BwE
No waste because they can’t bill out feed and they can’t sit on it and poop in it either. Plenty of room to make sure all get a turn (I don’t like the pipe feeders because not enough chickens can eat at the same time... at least one third of your flock should be able to eat at the same time, half is much better).