Feeder and waterer recommendations

[User105877]

Can they not reach and eat what falls on the ground? If you only have the two chickens I would just toss a Vienna sausage cans worth of feed directly on the ground and let them scratch for it instead of giving any Treets. They only need 3 or 4 ounces a day each and enjoy scratching for it. Maybe toss some on the ground first, then clean your waterer and then hang the feeder once they have eaten. That way they won't be as messy. When I was younger I worked with a man who had 400 gamecocks in individual wire cages. Each had a water crock or water bottle but no feeder. In the afternoon or evening he went through and tossed a can worth of feed to each one.

Most likely some of the healthiest birds around.

 

[jreardon1918]

An update. I am going to be away for 7 days. A neighbor will check in on the girls. Collect the eggs and make sure there is food and water. We have 4 pullets and 8 hens. We have 5 gallon and a two gallon HN bucket water stations. I just made a 2nd pvc feeder. The two feeders hold about 25 pounds of feed. Here are a few pics. I tried to superglue the bowl at the bottom . That didn’t work. So I drilled holes and bolted the bowl at the bottom to the vertical pipe. The pipe is 4” x 5’.

 

[Mouthpear]

but with the warm weather approaching I want to buy a waterer that holds more water so I can also add ice on extra hot days.

If you have a cooler, you can use the drain/spigot and make a chicken nipple distribution waterer. Easy to make and easy to put blocks of ice or frozen bottle water. If you need more detail, just ask.


Most coolers have a drain plug or spigot that a water hose can be used to drain.

With a cheap adapter you can make one of these.

Use Plugs and horizontal chicken nipples, like I have in this waterer.

Old vertical nipples

New horizontal nipples (add nipples to end plugs too)

 

[Mouthpear]

Forgot to add the feed part

This link is where I showed some about that. The pet food containers are great for this because the seal, snap shut. You can always go to home depot and get a larger tote.

 

[Mouthpear]

but with the warm weather approaching I want to buy a waterer that holds more water so I can also add ice on extra hot days.

Many apologies for bombarding your thread and for the night time photography.
I also need to apologise for not making this disclaimer earlier. Some of the links are amazon affiliate links. That may or may not generate a few cents my way. However I try to find the best deal I can find. Tho it is generally to point you in the right direction.

There are key points I feel the need to add.

First and foremost, is that the Cooler can be placed Outside of the run under shade and easier to get to. Those, in of themselves are great, but not having to build a cover for the cooler, to keep them from roosting and pooping on it, is beyond measure.

Stating the obvious here, but it's a cooler. Meant to keep things cool or cold. Insulated. If using a regular container you are going to lose a lot of the cold. A cooler may allow you to go for at least two days, between putting Ice or Ice bottles.

Next, if you are going to use this long term, then using a water hose meant for potable water is definitely recommended. They are usually white and will reflect heat better. Still covering it is best. If you are only going to use it for a week or two then a regular water hose should be ok. Just keep it out of direct sunlight.

Mounting. Mounting is easy peazy. Can be tied to run wall or if the fear of predators reaching in, is a concern them two steaks in the ground will work.

Horizontal Nipples are just better than vertical nipples. H Nipples don't need to be perfectly straight. While Vs need to be straight up and down as possible. This leads to sediment and debris clogging the Vs. Hs can be set tilted back a bit and the still work. This allows sediment/debris to settle back into the pipe.

The manifold can be horizontal. Or if you have different size birds you can have it Diagonal. Also an advantage of using H nipples.

As I said before if you have a cooler with the drain, a simple adapter can be used.

And finally. If you are still reading. A dump valve for easy evacuation of water and Debris. A plug can be used but a vales will let you attach a hose to dump water elsewhere. A quick 2 second flush is a good idea with not worrying about tightening a plug and getting water all over yourself.

And finally. If you are still reading. An Irrigation/Hydroponics Y Filter and Garden Hose Shut Off Valve- 3/4” Again a quick 2 second flush is a good idea with not worrying about tightening a the cap and getting water all over yourself.

............

 

[valeriekasnick]

I ended up purchasing a feeder very similar to yours and a waterer that’s the same shape but for water. They seemed confused at first but I’m hoping they’ll come around to it.

Do you have a name for that blue feeder that hangs?