How do you keep waterer semi clean?????

[jdoane]

My chicks are 2 weeks and VERY rambunctious. I have a pretty standard chick waterer in the brooder. Used marbles in it for the first week but am marble free now. My problem is they kick more pine shavings and poop into the water than I ever would have imagined. I am cleaning out the water about 3 times a day. They are not knocking it over but mainly kicking shavings in when they are digging and scratching or racing around the brooder! I've got the waterer up on a jar lid that elevated it about 3/4 of an inch. That hasn't seemed to help at all. Any solutions to this?

 

[whittychick]

Yep same thing happened to me too! Changed the water bowl and food container at least 5-6 a day! Messy little babies they are! How many chicks do you have? I don't have a solution for you :-/ just that its sooooo much better now that they're outside! Good luck!

 

[Jakrzz]

My chicks are 2 weeks and VERY rambunctious.  I have a pretty standard chick waterer in the brooder.  Used marbles in it for the first week but am marble free now.  My problem is they kick more pine shavings and poop into the water than I ever would have imagined.  I am cleaning out the water about 3 times a day.  They are not knocking it over but mainly kicking shavings in when they are digging and scratching or racing around the brooder!  I've got the waterer up on a jar lid that elevated it about 3/4 of an inch.  That hasn't seemed to help at all.  Any solutions to this?

Hmmm... I put mine on some board about 3 inches high, and sort of made steps with smaller pieces. Worked like a charm for me!
Now wit my older chickens, I have poultry nipple waterers that are gravity fed. But they are 5 gallons! Try ordering some poultry nipples from amazon (really cheap, got mine for .29 a piece!) you can make them with Gatorade bottles for little chickies. Since they're young, they should pick up on the habit quick. Mine did!
Good luck!

 

[OScarlet]

ours is on a 2" tall patio block. They still get stuff in it. If it has been a while since I cleaned it they usually resort to drinking from the juice bottle nipple waterers I made.

 

[rmurrayslcut]

I have to agree with elevating it. You're safe to elevate it to about shoulder level and it certainly helps.

Another thing I recommend is to eschew wood shavings for small chicks. I used newspaper. I started with wood chips and had the same contamination problems as you're reporting. The downside of newspaper is that I've heard the chicks can slip on the wet paper and get injured. It didn't happen to me because I replaced the paper every day. Even then, as the chicks aged, they began getting little pieces of newspaper in the water.

The bottom line is that you can keep their water clean by changing it often. I changed my chicks water three and four times per day. It's a lot of work, but you'll very quickly start to miss the amount of time you spent on your baby chicks and even miss the inordinate amount of time you spent pampering the little things.

 

[OScarlet]

This is one advantage of having them in the bathtub. It is a ten second job to tip out the muck in the toilet and set it back down.

 

[jdoane]

Will plan on elevating it more and looking into the chick nipples thing. Not familiar with those.

 

[Roxannemc]

I have to agree with elevating it. You're safe to elevate it to about shoulder level and it certainly helps.

Another thing I recommend is to eschew wood shavings for small chicks. I used newspaper. I started with wood chips and had the same contamination problems as you're reporting. The downside of newspaper is that I've heard the chicks can slip on the wet paper and get injured. It didn't happen to me because I replaced the paper every day. Even then, as the chicks aged, they began getting little pieces of newspaper in the water.

The bottom line is that you can keep their water clean by changing it often. I changed my chicks water three and four times per day. It's a lot of work, but you'll very quickly start to miss the amount of time you spent on your baby chicks and even miss the inordinate amount of time you spent pampering the little things.

It does get old fasr rasie it on a brick works for a while ... Newspaper sounds good but I have heard they can get spraddle leg etc from walking on a slick surface like newspaper.... maybe crumbled?
ONLy really good solution is .when they go outside !! WHO-RAAH DAY!

 

[Roxannemc]

This is one advantage of having them in the bathtub. It is a ten second job to tip out the muck in the toilet and set it back down.

Tried it before but I have a septic system not sure how good all those wood chips is for it It sure stops the sink drain in the bathroom in seconds. even a few tiny ones. so stopped
If I lived in the city I would do that.
My peave is spilling the stink water as igo to clean the waterer and it does STINK even just over night .... poo, chips, medicated crumbles .... guck...

I actually cut a gallon jug down left the handle and I dump the old water into it before I walk the waterer to the kitchen to wash it out.
That way I don't drip drip on the way and only have to dump the stinking water out once by the brooder then the jug far outside on a bush here and there far from the house ..
Once thought it might be good for my bushes (slurry) so tried to dump it off the porch onto the bushes for a few days ...then smelled a horrible smell plus it was drawing flys..... realized it was the chick water.......End of that

.

 

[jdoane]

Just ordered some chick nipples.

Just sounds funny!

I got the kind that hook into soda bottles. Any recommendations for how to hang the bottle?

An another water question. I have been using the vitamen and electrolyte additive that the hatchery sent since they arrived two weeks ago. When do I switch to just water?