Chicken/Goat water device...

[richarddhoward]

So I have an interesting question, spawned by this:

I have two Nigerian Dwarf goats, that live with my chickens...but they like to drink out of the watering device for the chickens. It's your standard run of the mill 1 gallon waterer, with the moat at the bottom, fed by gravity

I don't care that they share water, but the goats knock the thing over every day. Any one have an idea of something I could use that would maybe be better for this?

I an currently building a new stand for a water barrel, and if I can set something up with that it'd probably be easier. I need something easy to clean, easy to fill, goat and chicken friendly. My cat sometimes sneaks a drink out of it to. Which is rather comical, he wants nothing to do with goats, and runs from them when they walk up to him, and he doesn't always see them coming when he is drinking out of the fountain.

 

[chfite]

If you could rig up a means to suspend the waterer, the goats couldn't knock it over. Even if it were suspended so that it still sat on the ground, it wouldn't turn over.

Chris

 

[Chicks Galore3]

Richarddhoward - I am sorry for posting something that is not an answer, but sometime could I pick your brain about goats with chickens? I am hoping to get 2 ND goats this spring! I use a dog dish for a waterer for my chickens - it works well and maybe your goats won't knock it over.

 

[richarddhoward]

I can help you as much as I can! I am still learning too! I may try the dog dish, but they have a water dish of their own, and never use it, I found birds in it today, and not the chickens lol

 

[Skipspin]

Our chickens free range and so do our goats. We have a 5 gallon bucket up on a cinder block for the goats, with one cinder block next to it for our one little Nigerian goat to stand on to reach. The others are full size and reach without the block. It's on the block to keep the ducks from drinking it (there is other water that they can drink) since they muck it up about 2 minutes after it's filled, then the goats don't want to drink it- not that I blame them. The ducks usually drink out of our extra horse trough that's low enough. The chickens drink out of the goat water (they sit in the edge), the horse trough as long as it's pretty full (they sit on the edge) and puddles that are usually around all summer.

I know, it's not sophisticated, but it works. We refill with fresh water at least once a day.

Even our big RIR rooster chooses the 5 gallon bucket, so it must not be too hard.

 

[richarddhoward]

That is about the setup I have now, although I have a chicken waterer too, they goats drink out of it with the chickens it's really cute.