Chicks kicking shavings into the water

[rosemarythyme]

How old are these chicks? Very young chicks may not have the strength needed to use a horizontal nipple.

I also wouldn't trust them to just "figure it out" - best to train them by either demonstrating how to use the nipple, or picking them up and making them toggle it to get some water so they make the connection.

 

[3KillerBs]

Based on advice and photos from the various chick brooding articles and threads here, I put my feeder and waterer on a hard surface instead of on the shavings -- concrete pavers that I happened to have lying around.

As the chicks have grown I elevated them on bricks and wood blocks over that hard surface.

This minimized but did not eliminate the shavings problem (even at 3 weeks they could fling shavings a remarkable distance when digging).

 

[mrybells]

I had the same issue but then I changed my brooder to a dog crate and gave them a lot more room. They love scratching so if the brooder isn't big enough its just going to get hit with the debris. I finally can stop cleaning it every couple of hours...so much better!