Need help w/quail waterer and feeder

[lostquail]

i use a 3 gallon plastic waterer and a metal poultry feeding trough with my Bobwhites but the waterer recently broke and i'm thinking of switching my feeding method as well since so much of the feed goes to waste in the trough.
firstly, the waterer i've got is a heated poultry waterer that looks like this:

it worked great through the winter and the rest of the year too but then it sprung a leak somewhere and was soaking the inside of their pen so i had to take it out. i have another one of these same heated waterers that i used to use for my chickens before i switched them to a metal waterer w/heated base but the spare heated waterer is filthy and was in with the chickens for years so i dont know how safe it would be to use for the quail, even after being washed out. normally i'd just buy another waterer but the heated kind aren't cheap ($50+) so i'd like to use the one i used with the chickens if possible. would i be able to? and if yes what method should i use to clean it out? i'm guessing a bleach solution would be best but i dont know what % solution to use..i googled it and found results ranging from 1/4 cup bleach to a gallon (1.5% solution) all the way to a half/half mixture (50% solution). i want it to be strong enough to totally disinfect the thing but not strong enough to hurt the quail when they drink from it.
my other question is about their feeder. the metal trough i've been using looks like this:

it's about 18" long and i have it raised up on bricks to keep them from dirtying it too much but they often will knock it off the bricks onto the floor, spilling the feed everywhere. the space they're in doesn't really allow for a bucket feeder so i need either a different type of feeder that takes up roughly the same amount of room but that won't have the spilling/waste problem or a way to stabilize the trough they've got now so that they don't spill and waste so much feed. any ideas?

 

[loopy119]

When mine are chicks, I use small animal water bottles like you would give to a rabbit. When I put them out into the barn, they drink out of my rabbit automatic watering system because they live in rabbit cages. (I don't raise rabbits anymore, but I still have the plumbing and cages in.) They would still use the bottles when they are adults, you just have to get bigger ones and fill them everyday or a couple times a day. I like my feed and water staying seperated! Haha! Here's a link to a pic of similar water bottles I use in their brooder:

http://www.google.com/m/search?site...print-us&q=Small animal water bottle&sa=N#i=5

For the feeders, I go to feed stores and get the creep feeders with the head holes for chicks. Sometimes they're red plastic and sometimes they're metal. The holes seem to help prevent them scratching their feed out. They will still try, and they will get some out, but they won't be able to knock as much out. Here's a link to a pic:

http://www.google.com/m/search?site=images&client=ms-android-sprint-us&gl=us&source=mog&aq=f&oq=&aqi=g3-k0d0t0&fkt=1928&fsdt=3682&cqt=&rst=&htf=&his=&maction=&q=Chick+feeder#i=70

My methods don't work for everyone, but they work just fine for me! I also use gallon milk jugs with a hole in the side as sandboxes! This keeps them from trying to bathe in their food too! Good luck in finding what works for your quail!

 

[MobyQuail]

yup, we use the metal ones.

 

[MobyQuail]

 

[lostquail]

Quote:
I think i'll get one of these, that looks like it'll save a lot more feed than the open ones I'm using now.

any ideas about cleaning the waterer that was used with the chickens? still unsure if it can be used or not/what i should use to clean it

 

[MobyQuail]

my humble, only because you are trying to work with what ya already got. and understanding you are trying to salvage and save $50.

would be to clean it well with dishsoap and hot water. then give it a stronger strength bleach bath, and let it soak, then transfer to a water bath for a while, then clean it well with dishsoap and hot water again. I clean brooders and water/feed trays with bleach or lysol solution, sometimes both, sometimes let em soak for days and scrub em and soak em some more.

can't be too careful. but that being said, remember, the equipment may not carry any infectious diseases, we are just being very cautious, knowing where it has been.

and we should also understand, some may not wish to take that risk, or some may go ahead and use it as is, and that is their absolute right.

I love freedom...

 

[Stellar]

I use the metal feeders and soak them in vinegar to clean them. For waterers I use plain ol water bottles used for rabbits. They are pretty inexpensive.

To clean the waterer you can soak in vinegar or diluted bleach

 

[7L Farm]

I would get my feeders from a gentleman who is a BYC'ER his name is birdhousejim. He had them advertised in an auction yesterday. They are top notch feeders I really like his feeders. No waste & will last forever.

 

[Stellar]

I use those for my buttons and they are wonderful

I believe another man made them for me but still the same idea.

 

[lostquail]

Quote:
sounds like this should do the trick although I'm not sure about soaking the heated waterer in the bleach solution since it's an electrical appliance and i don't know how well the heated base (or the metal plug) would take to being soaked in bleach/water over a length of time. would it work instead to just fill the waterer with the bleach solution and then let it sit full of that solution for a while? ive looked around and it seems like a 10% bleach solution should be more than enough to disinfect it so for a 3 gallon waterer I believe that would be about 1/4 gallon of bleach to 2 and 3/4 gallons of water (or 1 quart of bleach to 11 quarts of water). after letting it sit out for a while with that solution i'd empty it out and clean/rinse it out again with soap and water. so should this work?