plastic or metal feeder/waterer

[enggass]

Is anyone concerned about reusing a plastic container over and over? The plastic breaks down over time and leaches into the water... no?

 

[Ema]

Quote:
I had the same question but if you look on the bottom of the plastic waterer or feeder it can tell you what type of plastic it is made out of. Mine are made with # 5 plastic which means its safe to reuse and can even be placed in the dishwasher. I am not sure about the other grades of plastic though.

Also Metal Vs. Plastic waterers or feeders. I have a plastic feeder but I have one of each for waterers and I can't for the life of me figure out why the metal waterer stinks so bad. I wash it out every single day because of the smell. I don't have that issue with the plastic one!! I am thinking about throwing it out but the metal ones are hard to find up here and we have super cold winters up here in the north. So maybe I will put it away until winter.

 

[enggass]

What are the advantages of the Metal ones in the winter?
Do the plastic ones break in cold weather?

 

[ducks4you]

Have you considered rubber? Since I am also a horse-owner I have a lot of rubber feed buckets. I use a shallow one (about 15" diameter) to feed my birds and I use a deeper, but smaller (dog sized) one for water in the winter, because I can twist in and get the ice out. The ones that I use that live outside 24/7/365 for the horses last for literally YEARS in all kinds of weather before they start to leak.

Otherwise, I prefer heavy plastic. Lightweight plastic, like in paint buckets and a lot of poultry waterers crack too easy for me. Metal tends to crack in the winter, and I don't care for the sharp edges. Hope this helps!

 

[aka Rachel]

I have both metal and plastic for feed and water and prefer each for different reasons.

I like the plastic waterer (screw in type) for my 5 laying hens in the winter because I have two. So when one freezes, it comes inside and the new unfroze one goes out. I don't have a heater for their water and its impossible to get the ice out of the metal one.

I like the metal waterer for my 2 week olds because it doesn't leak. I bought a nice big plastic waterer for my new birds but then realise it had a constant slow leak (not good!!) where the resavoir sort of notched into the base. Nothing I did wrong, just poorly designed. It would be good for ouside I suppose.

For feeders I like both types. It seems if you want bigger here, you need to go metal

 

[cochinfan]

I have an assortment of plastic water containers. They are easy to clean for the most part although I had to buy an array of brushes to fit some of them. The only reason I have a metal one is because I use the metal platform heater in the winter. Since I bought that, I bought the plug in plastic kind which is the perfect for any season waterer.

 

[enggass]

Quote:
What are you referring to when you say 'plug-in plastic kind' heater? Where can I find these?