Make your own - No waste - 5 gallon (25# feed) bucket feeder for about $3

[pfields]

I have both the side and bottom nipple waters.

The bottom nipple is the one made from an orange Igloo water can. It stays cleaner on the inside and mold doesn't seem to grow in it.

My white bucket with the side nipples will get very green on the inside. The water does stay cleaner but the green mold has to be cleaned out with a brush. I had to put a glass pie pan over the lid because the chickens would get on the top and poop would sometimes fall in the hole. I haven't found anything that doesn't need cleaning.

 

[QuiltinGramma]

pfields....You have confused me. What hole on your waterer are you talking about that poop can fall through? Don't you have a solid lid on yours? The waterer we made is from a 3-gallon plastic bucket that has a solid lid. Then my husband cut a 2.5"-3" hole and put a "spout" with a screw-on cap. We now screw the cap off, insert the hose and turn the water on whenever we want to fill the bucket up. Could you try something like that to help keep the poop out of your water?

 

[kimc83]

I also have a solid lid on mine. The feed bucket has a screw on lid and the water has one that just snaps on. I have a air intake hole drilled into the side near the top to let in air when water is dispensed but no dirt can get into that. I will just clean any mold/yuckies out when I refill the water.

 

[tntchix]

I have both the side and bottom nipple waters.

The bottom nipple is the one made from an orange Igloo water can. It stays cleaner on the inside and mold doesn't seem to grow in it.

My white bucket with the side nipples will get very green on the inside. The water does stay cleaner but the green mold has to be cleaned out with a brush. I had to put a glass pie pan over the lid because the chickens would get on the top and poop would sometimes fall in the hole. I haven't found anything that doesn't need cleaning.

I have a "v" cut out for my deicer in winter so I keep a board and a construction cone on top of mine.

No dust, no poop.

 

[Alaskan]

Ok I am going back to my original bucket feeders. The tote feeder actually holds a whole bag of feed but too much debris is getting in. I did not have an issue with my originals so back I go.

The buckets actually take up more space in my coop but none gets wasted.

Could you explain?

What do you mean by "too much debris is getting in"??

 

[tntchix]

It's my fault when I turn the deep litter it ends up in the pipes somehow.

LOL It never happened with the bucket one

 

[Alaskan]

were both feeder types at the same level?

 

[tntchix]

yep but I moved it into the center of coop the buckets were against one wall

 

[henless]

I have both the side and bottom nipple waters.

The bottom nipple is the one made from an orange Igloo water can. It stays cleaner on the inside and mold doesn't seem to grow in it.

My white bucket with the side nipples will get very green on the inside. The water does stay cleaner but the green mold has to be cleaned out with a brush. I had to put a glass pie pan over the lid because the chickens would get on the top and poop would sometimes fall in the hole. I haven't found anything that doesn't need cleaning.

My water bucket is blue. It never gets anything in it unless I put ACV in the water. Then it gets a black looking cloud in the water. I guess it's a reaction with my well water. No algae ever grows on it.

I had white water buckets for my horses. They would grow a lot more algae than the blue ones I had.

 

[Finnie]

Quote:
This makes sense because of the light getting in. Fish tanks near a window grow more algae than fish tanks away from windows or in darker rooms. My bucket waterer is made from a semi-transparent Tidy Cat litter container. I like that I can see the water level in it. But I have noticed that if I let it go for two weeks between cleanings, I can feel slime inside of it. I think if (when) I make a second one, I will use a blue bucket.