Chickens spilling water in coop

[FTHOBBY]

My ISA browns keep spilling the water in my coop. I have linoleum and pine shaving litter as my flooring. I don't want the floor to be wet especially in the winter. It is a hanging waterer but currently on the ground to reduce spillage. I have metal roofing hanging over it currently because they are sitting on it which is causing the spillage and pooping in the water. So far that has helped with the poop but they are still spilling the water. Any suggestions. I plan to put a platform in to put the water on in the near future but I do not think that will stop them from spilling it.

 

[imnukensc]

Horizontal nipple waterer will solve your problems. Why do you have a waterer in the coop?

 

[wamtazlady]

I agree with imnukensc. The type of waterer you are using is prone to spillage and contamination. So change to a waterer that keeps the water clean and has no spillage. I also wonder why your water is in the coop. Mine is always outside. Live in NW Montana and the girls are outside all day, winter and summer.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

I keep my feed and water in the run instead of the coop to avoid this issue as well as not attracting rodents to where my girls sleep. Even though I put feeders up every night, they still come looking for shrapnel.

Good luck!

 

[RonP]

Simple solution is to put the water in a water heater tray. Water spilled will be contained in the larger tray.

Hope this helps.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

It looks like it is suspended? correct me if i am wrong..
If you choose to hang that type of water feed, it should be placed outdoors. If you wish to continue, place it on a couple concrete pavers stacked up above the chips so the rim doesn't get full of dirty chips from all the scratching.
The spilling is taking place because it is allowed to swing and twist currently. The metal poopy guard on top is a little over kill.
I suppose your chickens are young judging from the size of the water container.
For my younger flock I rubber banded 20-30 or so drinking straws(99cents @ dollar store) upwards around the container to help prevent them from wanting to perch upon the water feeder.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The typical cause of that type of waterer leaking is that it is not level. It depends on a vacuum to keep the water from coming out before they drink the level down to where it will let more air in. If you have an air leak, a hole in it, that can cause it to overflow too but it's almost always that it is not level.

You can see below how I did mine to stop them from bumping it and spilling water. I fashioned a loop out of stiff wire to fit over it and used screws to keep them from knocking the base around. I suggest you get that platform built pretty soon and make sure it is level. I think those wires going up kept them from flying up there to try to perch. To me that cap you fashioned to keep them from flying up there looks pretty good.

I don't use that kind any more. This is from a different area but I build something like this, a piece of plywood with a hole cut out to fit the pet bowl to get it up where they don't scratch something in it and give then a place to stand. For young chicks I fill it with rocks so they can walk on water and not drown. They will poop in it so you have to dump it every day but to me it's a lot easier to do that than refill those other waterers.

 

[blackdog043]

A horizontal nipple waterer will fix your problems and make your life easier. Horizontal nipples can be found on Amazon. Here's two I made.

 

[chickens really]

I use a rubber livestock bowl and put it up on bricks...easy peasy.....

 

[azygous]

Unless your chickens spend all their daytime hours indoors, your waterers should be out in the run where chickens spend all their time. They do not need water at night when they are sleeping, and layers are in and out of the coop before they need a drink of water.

If you follow the advice of practically every poster who has replied, and set up nipple waterers, your life will improve a hundred fold. No more scrubbing out filthy water pans. No more major spills. No more constantly filling waterers.

I found the Bright Tap nipple watering systems and they install easily and quickly onto 5 gallon Igloo water coolers. This has freed up so much of my time it's amazing, not to mention the back breaking labor of hauling water jugs back and forth. A hose fills the Igloos once every couple weeks.