can I simply fill a bucket with water?

[al6517]

I use both really without any problems. I do however don't let chicks drink from large bucket's but shoot everybody knows that. I have never had a problem with any drownings in buckets, and grown birds have no problem with them at all.

AL

 

[ray2310]

Quote:
We also use the dishpans.they work great. Keep one in run and one at house for when they are out free ranging.

 

[BarefootMom]

I use a kiddie pool. (used it even before I got ducks...)

Also they drink out of the automatic cow waterers... I have one of the 5-gallon bucket waterers I use for my chicks and my broodies.

Also in the summer you can freeze the bottom half of the bucket and fill the rest with water- helps keep the chickens cool

 

[jjthink]

Safest is shallow water containers and you can prop up some inches on sturdy base of whatever so that they don't make too much of a mess.

JJ

 

[GiddyMoon]

I grew up around a lot of chicken owners and they didn't have "waterers" Everyone used buckets, plastic or metal pails.

 

[dewey]

Just mentioned this for use in a pinch then ran across this thread...gallon milk jugs cut down but with the handles on so they can be secured and not tip...I don't use these for rabbits but I do for my chickens because they're so much easier. Those waterers are such a pain!

 

[Country Parson]

I never use chicken waterers (except in the brooder). They are expensive and a pain to use. I use 2.5gal and 5gal pails. I disagree about the drowning thing. That may be true for young chicks, but not for adult size chickens (I can't speak about bantams). Maybe if you were using a 7gal pail that would be an issue, but chickens can't reach over a 7gal pail to get a drink anyway. In fact, the 5gal pail is a bit too tall IMHO---not that its unsafe, but the chickens struggle getting to the water. A 2 or 2.5 gal pail is just right. Easy to clean & refill. If it wasn't for my geese and ducks fouling the water, it would last for several days.

 

[kasey08]

Yeah I use ice cream buckets for grown Silkies.

 

[flowerchild59]

For about 5 dollars i got a black plastic , i think 3 gallon, water/feeding pan from rural king. It will not freeze, and with the cheaper plastic things, they become brittle with freezing temps, shattering, and I had a roo, i think, ingest some small plastic shards and die a few years ago. So I broke down and got the black pans from rural king. Best money I have spent in a long time.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I use 5qt. bowls in the run and around the yard in the summer. They are so much easier to clean! They work great on uneven ground in a tractor that's moved daily, too. Leveling a waterer every day is such a hassle. I wouldn't mind using a small pail, either. I wouldn't personally use an open 5 gallon bucket, after someone posted on the forum about a chicken that drowned in one. It was either last year or the year before. The chicken ended up in the bucket upside down and was stuck, where it drowned. Those little 2 1/2 or 3 gallon size pails seem like they'd be a good size. A lot of pans would work, too.

I do like waterers for young chicks, of course. When we need a heater to keep water unfrozen in the winter, we usually end up using a waterer, too.