Dirty Water

[mebuff daisy]

My hens water is always dirty ,How can i keep it clean ? it is up on bricks now but it still is very dirty

 

[pawtraitart]

My hens water is always dirty ,How can i keep it clean ? it is up on bricks now but it still is very dirty

There is no sure fire way to keep an open pan type drinker clean. The only way to ensure clean water is to use a nipple drinker. I recommend the horizontal nipples because they don't leak/drip, but even a vertical nipple drinker is cleaner than a trough/bowl/pan waterer.

 

[mebuff daisy]

Thanks

 

[realsis]

I'm able to keep my girls watered fairly clean by putting it on blocks and putting a plastic tray under it.the "tray" I use is one of those plastic storage bin boxes lids. It works wonderfully. The water stays clean I clean the tray daily because the tray gets dirty but not the water. This has really worked out well for me and my flock. Before I did this it was almost impossible to keep it clean. Now it stays clean until the next day when I change it. The "tray" really helps catch all the stuff and the blocks are up high enough that the water stays clean yet they can still reach it.hope this helps. You can use cinder block or brick then put the tray directly under it this way they aren't knocking stuff into the water, the tray prevents that.

 

[mebuff daisy]

Thanks !

 

[OnceAroundTheBlock]

Today I just finished putting a 5 gal Igloo water cooler with a nipple attachment for 2 waterers on where the factory installed spigot was on the cooler. I would mention the nipple company's name but the last time I did some member here jumped on me questioning why would I buy a ready made one instead of a DIY one. Ummm, maybe because I wanted to?

Anyway, all 3 chickens are slow to figure out how to use it so I went inside their run and gave them several demonstrations on how it works. Hopefully tomorrow, after their little brains had a good night's sleep, they'll figure it all out.

 

[Aacre]

Today I just finished putting a 5 gal Igloo water cooler with a nipple attachment for 2 waterers on where the factory installed spigot was on the cooler. I would mention the nipple company's name but the last time I did some member here jumped on me questioning why would I buy a ready made one instead of a DIY one. Ummm, maybe because I wanted to?

Anyway, all 3 chickens are slow to figure out how to use it so I went inside their run and gave them several demonstrations on how it works. Hopefully tomorrow, after their little brains had a good night's sleep, they'll figure it all out.

Have you taken out other sources of water so that they are forced into learning it? I bet they'll catch on!

 

[mebuff daisy]

Great,does anyone know how much a nipple drinker costs ?

 

[LakeMomNY]

5 horizontal nipples, on EBay, shipped will run you about $13. Cost per nipple will go down if you need more.

A 5 gallon bucket will cost you about $3 if you need to buy it. You can get buckets free pretty easily, however. Ask at your supermarket bakery and deli counters.

You will have to drill a hole in the bucket and twist the nipple into the hole. If you do not have access to a drill a local hardware store will most likely do it for you for free if you ask. A store like Home Depot or Lowes will most likely as well, but they may charge $1 per hole. They most likely won't charge if it is just one or two or, if you are friendly, polite, and/or female.