How the heck do you keep the shavings out of the water?!

[ReseisCL16]

Try raising the waterer higher and placing bricks around it, like stairs, to keep a swath of area around the waterer that is free of shavings. The birds are only scratching to get to food that they have knocked out of their feeder, so try raising the feeder up to about the height of their breast feathers. That way they have a harder time scratching the feed into the shavings.

 

[azygous]

I solved this problem years ago by creating a way to hang a chick water bottle. Read through the thread for easy to follow instructions. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-hang-a-chick-water-bottle.957712/

 

[Mr Awesome]

So set it up on brick, 2x4 , what serves your situation then put another one in with about 5 inches apart with rock or whatever so it stays apart. Wrks perfect in our broader

 

[llombardo]

You want to really go crazy, add ducks.

I go to bed pretty late and get up pretty early, so I put the water up. They get their last drink at 10-11 pm. Water back in by 5-6 am. In the morning, they do not go right for the water, they want food, they always want food. If they were outside(some people have them outside at this age) they would not have access to water at night because they are sleeping. I tried the water over night and they didn't sleep. I think resting is something they need to do. It really reminds me of raising a toddler...lol