Chickens on Waterer

[Creteloc]

I have the age-old problem of chickens pooping into their water from the top of the bucket. There's a hole on top of their bucket where the de-icer plugs in. So my question is... if I print these spikes and glue them to the lid of the bucket, will it keep them off and/or hurt them? Are they smart enough to see them and just stay off of them? Are spikes too drastic?

 

[RonP]

If you are questioning, why chance an injury on another's opinion?

Personally, I would take a 5 gallon water bottle, cut it in half or so. Use the top, now a funnel, and put it on top of your water bucket.

Hope this helps.

 

[Creteloc]

Thanks for that idea. I am fairly certain those won't hurt a chicken, because they aren't at all as sharp as they look. I was more questioning if a chicken is smart enough to see an uneven surface or a non-flat surface and instinctively know not to try to land there.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I can't tell how big those really are. It's possible they are big enough they will just perch on them, or small enough they'll just move it out of the way depending on how strong that glue is. My opinion is that they won't hurt themselves on it in either case but as Ron said that's just my opinion. I've seen grown chickens perch on a 3/8" piece of plywood turned on edge. Sometimes they will surprise you on what they will perch on.

Another alternative is to hang something over the bucket they can't perch on and low enough they can't get under it. A gallon plastic milk jug is often used. If it's where the wind hits it you may want to fill it with sand to keep it in place. I don't have a photo but I made a piece out of plywood and hung it in a way that It flips then off if they try to perch on it.

Or build a shelf over it they can play on but keeps the poop out of the water.