By George I think I got it!! Waterer & Feeder Solution for small coop

[saltnprepper]

I have go to learn how to post my photos. I will add one to this post when I learn how to.

I searched for solutions to my problem and had to come up with one because I couldn't find one. I have a small coop a 4 bird max coop which houses three 9 week pullets at the moment.

My pullets refuse to use the perch for sleeping they still want to huddle together in the large nesting box. (I have blocked the small nesting box they prefer to save that for laying eggs. I was trying to train them to use the roost but I really dont care if they sleep in the other nesting box area. We purchased a prefab coop and the nesting box is 36 in long by 12 in deep. I have sectioned off 12x12 for the final nesting box area and the 12x24 area is open for them to use. Anyway I was having problems with poopy and dirty water and food even in my hanging feeders because my coop design did not allow for a nice placement. The girls wanted to be up under them and knocked them to and fro. There was water, poop and wasted food everywhere!

So I found a 64 oz rabbit waterer that has a flat back at PetSmart (All living Creatures, is the brand) It has the ball in the tube. I used some fencing slats that are galvanized aluminum and bent them to become a hanger and used a small bungie cord to secure the waterer to the home made hanger. I will post a photo. It is easy to access for filling and I put the old waterer in the run so the girls are encouraged to go outside. They stay in the coop most of the time. (by their choice, its open all day for them but they dont want to go outside yet)

I also found a gravity feeder that I attached to the wall for food.

This freed up at least a foot and a half of floor space and now there is very little water making a cold wet mess. The rabbit waterer does drip a little after each use but not nearly as bad as the other did. Also I was able to fix it to the wall that they do not really like to lay in or walk in.

I love my chickens! I am so glad to find a new way to fix the issues and make life better for them.

We also started a homeschool unit on Chickens today. The kids learned 6 vocabulary words, the reproductive system and the egg incubation cycle today. We made a poster with all we learned. Yeah, Homeschool Rocks!

 

[GoldenSparrow]

I would love to see pictures!!!!

 

[DinosRBirds]

Great ideas!!!

 

[saltnprepper]

I will be raising the bin feeder. Its trial and error but I think I am working the kinks out. Now were expecting snow. I am off to figure out how to heat the coop. The water inside froze last night.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Great set-up! I once had a couple of rabbits I was raising, and I put a couple of baby chicks in their cage with them to keep them company, and I had a rabbit water bottle for the bunnies in there. Well the three chicks figured out how to use it and boy did it make it alot less messy in their cage!!

For my Sussex flock I have a large nipple waterer made out of a 5 gallon bucket, with 4 nipples on the bottom. Super easy, and cheap! Plus they cannot kick dirt, bedding into it, and they cannot step through it all day long, etc! Works alot better. I have yet to get a bunch made, but I only wanted to test it out before I bought a whole bunch.

~Aspen

 

[coolcanoechic]

That's awesome! I have those very same bin feeders! They take waaaay less space and you can put them at whatever height works best for you.

 

[saltnprepper]

So the top photo is of the outside. I took advantage of my vent openings and used 3 inch L shaped brackets. They have two holes on both side for screws. I used to screws to secure to the outside. You can screw them directly to the wall. They are just bigger brackets than the 1 inch that you see holding the bungies at the top. I used the holes in the brackets and adjusted the length of mini bungie cords to hold it vertically. If you look at the outside photo you see a piece of wire. That came with the waterer. Its a 64oz rabbit waterer from petsmart. I attached that to a the horizontal bungie. These bungies make it super secure and make for easy removal but I am getting a small watering can to fill it without removal. The lid of the coop closes about an inch over the waterer so I do not get any debris in it. The bin feeder is attached with the bracket it came with. Also from petsmart. I am going to order a second one these girls are eating machines. All the chickens seem to have caught on to the nipple waterer. I still have a gallon round one on the ground out in their run.

 

[Dutch552]

Your waterer looks good!

 

[3forfree]

Your water probably froze because it's right in front of the vents.

 

[DMRippy]

That look great! If you have problems with them spilling feed you may have to cover the feeder with something... I have used 2 x 4 welded wire and am trying poultry netting. I use nipples to and they do freeze. For me the easiest thing is just remove the water at night and replace it in the morning.