Need ideas to prevent drowning..

[Justjen12]

Hey all, I am new here so HI! =D but unfortunately I have created this account for a reason. I have some young turkey poults (about 8 weeks old) who have decided that my horse trough sounds like a great place to get a drink. I have their water system on a timer so they are never out of water. But anyone who knows turkeys knows how curious and mischievous they can be. The water trough in question is your typical stock tank. It is about 3 feet high by about 5 feet wide. My turkeys keep jumping up on the side and falling in. I have lost two so far, does anyone have any ideas or suggestions as to how I can prevent this from continuing to happen? I have some large sticks in there to perch on, but apparently my turkeys don't understand what those are for.. =( Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[PirateGirl]

Can you put a cinder block or something in there so they have a step to get out, or at least stand on until you rescue them? Hmm... Hopefully you get some creative suggestions here.

 

[Flockandfowl46]

Offer them a kiddie pool the smallest you can get...they may opt for that instead of the trough that's what I do and seems to work...i also have horses and a stock tank but given a choice they prefer the kiddie pool and yes they fall in it sometimes but they can get out of it

 

[snow5164]

Can you raise the stock tank?
Put bricks in the bottom so it’s flat and they can get out?

Cover the top with hardware cloth and just leave an opening for the horses to drink ??

I’d like a picture because I don’t have horses, my cows drink out of big barrels cut down

 

[Justjen12]

I have put bricks in it and I am looking into how I could put some sort of wiring or hardware cloth around or over it without preventing the horses access. Im also thinking I may drain it and try to move it to a new location. Thank you guys for the quick responses. I just hope these things work and I don't have another turkey who thinks he can swim

Snow5164: I snagged some pictures offline because my phone currently doesn't have enough memory to take a new picture.

 

[Jeffrey Foster]

I keep a pallet in my stock tank for this vary reason. Also gives wild birds away out. My tank is only 100 gallons, so the pallet leans against the side and forms a ladder. My cows have no problems pushing it around to get a drink, and it fills the tank enough that the turkeys have something to grip with their feet when they begin to panic.