Can this marriage be saved?

[dirkandlorie]

So are you asking so you can get all these people to tell your husband to do it your way ? I am asking because the man lets you have chickens....let him have the watered wherever he wants to have it. Does it really matter? Seems like you should side with him unless he said. What does that group of crazy chicken ladies think ? (My husband says this, btw) otherwise if it’s not going To kill the birds let it go!

OMG!!!!! You are joking aren't you?!!!!!!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

So are you asking so you can get all these people to tell your husband to do it your way ? I am asking because the man lets you have chickens....let him have the watered wherever he wants to have it. Does it really matter? Seems like you should side with him unless he said. What does that group of crazy chicken ladies think ? (My husband says this, btw) otherwise if it’s not going To kill the birds let it go!

Are you freaking serious? The man lets her have chickens? What is this 1860? Wow. What a trip. So, because her husband and his ever amazing benevolence "allows" her to have chickens, that's in quotes by the way, that means any treatment short of killing them is okay? Wow. I can't believe I'm reading this in the 21st century.

OK so I agree with both of those points of view equally.
If memory serves, he built the coop and therefor he should have input. Also, the minutia of daily life or animal keeping shouldn't cause conflict.
In all reality, it doesn't matter whether the food and water is inside or out because, in the end, whatever one does in poultry keeping - it will eventually change. As long as we don't do anything that will out and out kill them like not giving them enough ventilation or depriving water for 24 hours - its all good.
I'm a man and the chicken keeper here. If my wife had it her way, we would have ZERO chickens. She has nothing to do with them and gets agitated when I can't be home by dusk and she has to lock up the coops.
One time she caught me setting eggs in an incubator and she said, "do we really need more chickens?"
In general though, I do what I want to do and she does what she wants to do. No spousal control here.
I remember well over 30 years ago we were on a canoe trip with several other couples - all friends of hers. The guys were all concentrated on fishing at a gravel bar break. All the women were lounging having fun. They came up with the idea to have a girls only float trip. All the men were dead set against it. They all said no and wondered why I didn't say anything against the idea. I said I thought it was a great idea and she could do whatever she wanted. I further stated that if I wanted to go somewhere by myself, I didn't want her to stop me. So the men finally relented a bit. One man told his wife she could go if she caught enough crawfish so he could fish the rest of the day and she spent about a half hour catching crawdaddies. (that's what we call them here).
Flash forward, the women will be celebrating their 32nd annual "All Girls Float Trip" this August.
During that time, we've taken a lot of family vacations but she has taken trips by herself, including internationally and I've been on a lot of international trips by myself.
Its all good.

 

[One Lucky Momma]

So are you asking so you can get all these people to tell your husband to do it your way ? I am asking because the man lets you have chickens....let him have the watered wherever he wants to have it. Does it really matter? Seems like you should side with him unless he said. What does that group of crazy chicken ladies think ? (My husband says this, btw) otherwise if it’s not going To kill the birds let it go!

Actually, it was his idea to have chickens. Somehow I’ve ended up their caretaker, which is fine. Downright delightful. l’m in love with them. I‘ve decided to just put a small horizontal nipple waterer inside the coop and be done with it. It will be weeks, months perhaps, before he notices.

 

[One Lucky Momma]

I want to thank everyone who took the time to read, ponder, and maybe even reply to my delimma. I love how the general consensus seems to be something in the realm of “do what works for you”.

The chicks have been out in the barn (in their coop and run) for a little over a week now, and doing great. For the time being I’ve left their chick waterer inside the coop and I’ll replace it with a smallish horizontal nipple waterer here in a couple of days. I’m committed to changing out the water when I do that with the big waterer in the run. They may never need to drink from it, but I’ll rest easier knowing it’s there.

When my dear husband discovers the coop waterer, he will be impressed with how well it’s put together and how nicely it’s mounted. He might not say as much, but I’ll know that’s what he’s thinking, and he’ll know it’s there only out of concern for the birds.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I want to thank everyone who took the time to read, ponder, and maybe even reply to my delimma. I love how the general consensus seems to be something in the realm of “do what works for you”.

The chicks have been out in the barn (in their coop and run) for a little over a week now, and doing great. For the time being I’ve left their chick waterer inside the coop and I’ll replace it with a smallish horizontal nipple waterer here in a couple of days. I’m committed to changing out the water when I do that with the big waterer in the run. They may never need to drink from it, but I’ll rest easier knowing it’s there.

When my dear husband discovers the coop waterer, he will be impressed with how well it’s put together and how nicely it’s mounted. He might not say as much, but I’ll know that’s what he’s thinking, and he’ll know it’s there only out of concern for the birds.

Much love and respect, @Lucky Momma .

 

[ChickenCanoe]

... I love how the general consensus seems to be something in the realm of “do what works for you”.
...

You're welcome. It really is hard to screw up raising chickens.

 

[blackdog043]

I’ll replace it with a smallish horizontal nipple waterer here in a couple of days.

I don't know what size you want, I made a 1 gallon with a pitcher for my brooder.

 

[One Lucky Momma]

I don't know what size you want, I made a 1 gallon with a pitcher for my brooder.

View attachment 2170994

Thank you! This is exactly what I was trying to imagine. I’ve had the little dispensers for a while but couldn‘t decide what kind of container. Our main waterer is made from a 5 gal food grade plastic bucket and I didn’t want something that large in the coop. This looks perfect and will be easy to clean/refill with the handle. They might perch/poop on the lid but what’s life without a little chicken poop?

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Great minds, @blackdog043 ! I've been using cereal containers with those horizontal nipples for space-saving waterers. The nipples don't leak, but there are occasional drips from chicken lips/leaks from chicken beaks when they drink. The brick absorbs those.

Thanks for starting an interesting discussion, @Lucky Momma .

 

[Nija Chick]

There is never a time when a captive animal should be denied water. Wether or not it makes a wet mess inside depends on the type of waterer etc. My mother's (she's 76 years old been raising chickens 40 years) chickens have just a simple 1gallon electric heated water bowl, up on a small 6" tall, 2'x2' square raised platform by an outside wall, and every morning she cleans that waterer and refills it. dumps out the water towards the outside wall so the water drains out and any wetness is under the platform and under the chicken house. It's never caused any wet bedding. And no captive animal should ever be denied water at all times. The few times they run out of water in that bowl, they are so thirsty when Mom gets there in the morning to let them out, that they mob her when she fills it. She also has a large water pan outside as well, that she also dumps, cleans and fills every morning.
Tell your husband, that no matter the watering method you choose, the chickens should have water at all times. This is not optional, they are small animals with high metabolisms and need water often.

Wether you feed them inside or out is optional, mom has her hanging feeder inside, with no issues, they have access 24/7.
I choose to keep the food outside and water both places. (I've been raising chickens for eggs and meat for 30 years)
As for the food getting wet, I feed them in dishes, and they love it when it rains and they have feed soup. They don't have to walk all the way to the water bowl, 3' away. Mine are free range, and I don't feed them so much that they have excess to sit in the bowls and rot and waste, they eat their breakfast gone, then go forage. Mom's feeder is inside because her chickens are confined to an inclosed run and she gives them lots of food so there's excess. Mom's run does have mice occasionally because of the excess food inside, mine doesn't because the food is outside and there isn't wasted food.

If you want to feed outside in an enclosed run, and have excess food, then build a roofed area over the feeder so it doesn't get wet.

Hope that helps