Chicks keeping spilling water and getting their bedding in it...

[nuttyredhead]

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Is it just a bucket? What does the rest of the system look like?

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Elevating the water does help keep it clean. Aim to have the level of the water/top edge of the tray at the level of the shortest chick's back. That way they can still reach in to drink.

I use an assortment of things to put under it. Overturned flower pot saucers, blocks of wood, bricks or any combination that gets it to the right height. If you have to choose between a little too high or a little too low, go lower.

I always have the brick or whatever it is resting on the actual floor of the brooder, with litter around it. That makes it much more stable. Having it resting on top of a thick layer of shavings makes it much more wobbly and easier to tip over.

 

[Fiddlehead]

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Just ordered myself 6 nipples, can't wait to not have a mess! How did you teach them to use the nipples Jay?

 

[Merryment]

My little hellions are 4 weeks old, knocking over feeders & waterers. I put a large Rabbit waterer on the side of the brooder & they took right to it. It seems to alleviate the pecking urge quite a bit as well. Next weekend, they start going out to the new coop, thank goodness.

 

[BellevueOmlet]

I agree, definately use chicken nipples. That is what I have with my 3 day olds and they love it! When they are old enough for water cups, I switch over.

 

[ralleia]

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I've never used nipple waterers--do brand-new baby chicks figure it out fast enough?

I was always worried to try them for fear that they wouldn't work it it. It seems they don't even know how to drink out of regular waterer until they fall into it twice!

 

[BellevueOmlet]

I hit my finger against it and they ran over to it and started drinking immediately. It was much easier than dipping their faces in the normal waterer and getting them to figure that out.

 

[ralleia]

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How about in the main coop? We use the five-gallon fount, but that's a pain to carry (besides being heavy, it bangs into my legs), and then there's the trying to keep it from freezing by sitting it on a heater, which we don't always have the best luck with.

I was thinking maybe a bird bath waterer in some kind of slightly elevated tank in the coop?

It sounds very intriguing--I hate it when they get poop or shavings in the water!

 

[BellevueOmlet]

My main coop has chicken water cups attached to a 5 gallon bucket that I fill with a hose. I have it outside of the coop so it is easy to access and not taking up their space. The only thing in the coop is a line along the wall with 2 water cups. With it outside, you could use something to heat it without worrying about contact with the chicks.

For the baby chickens, I just hang any container I can find and put a nipple in the bottom- simple and easy to manage.

 

[Henpencker]

I just finally got tired of the water getting filled with the bedding that I strung it about 6 inches off of the floor. It worked now I will do the same thing for the food.
I'm soo pleased with this idea. And did it just in time for them to be move to the basement. They are all feathered out they should be ok now. I really need to sit and
observe them. I do handle them but they are not happy campers when i do. I want to be able to have them eat out of my hands. But I don't have the time for that..oh well