Well I had to do a work-around with one of my new chooks. She's my 3rd addition to my suburban microflock.
Girl wasn't getting the hang of going up the ramp at night to roost in the loft, either she hadn't caught on yet or felt shy about the proposition, since she's lowest in the pecking order.
So she was roosting on the waterer (I have the 3-gallon vacuum-type galvanized steel thing) and of course pooping into the water. Which kind of defeats the purpose of the automatic water replenishing effect
. I had to clean it out every morning and refill it so the gals could have clean water.
That wasn't so much the problem as I wanted to see the new girl integrate with the other chooks.
So, I removed the waterer and replaced it with 2 of the largest tube-type waterers that are used for rabbits. You know -- the kind that look like a water bottle, with a spout that has a bead in it -- releases water when nudged or tapped.
That solved the prob! My chicken-girls all learned within an hour or so how to get water from the new-fangled source. And, new girl made her way up the ramp at sundown and established her spot on one of the roosting bars.
Yay chickens!
No eggs yet, too young. But soon I think!
Girl wasn't getting the hang of going up the ramp at night to roost in the loft, either she hadn't caught on yet or felt shy about the proposition, since she's lowest in the pecking order.
So she was roosting on the waterer (I have the 3-gallon vacuum-type galvanized steel thing) and of course pooping into the water. Which kind of defeats the purpose of the automatic water replenishing effect
That wasn't so much the problem as I wanted to see the new girl integrate with the other chooks.
So, I removed the waterer and replaced it with 2 of the largest tube-type waterers that are used for rabbits. You know -- the kind that look like a water bottle, with a spout that has a bead in it -- releases water when nudged or tapped.
That solved the prob! My chicken-girls all learned within an hour or so how to get water from the new-fangled source. And, new girl made her way up the ramp at sundown and established her spot on one of the roosting bars.
Yay chickens!
No eggs yet, too young. But soon I think!
