PLEASE HELP I DON"T KNOW WHAT TO DO

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I just remembered another style of waterer that can be tended from outside the pen:
https://www.strombergschickens.com/product/plastic-pop-bottle-founts

It's a little plastic trough that goes on a pop bottle (or soda bottle, depending on where you live.)

The trough sticks into the pen through a 1" by 1" hole in the wire, and the bottle hangs on the outside for easy access.

Good points:
--They cannot dump it over (because it's attached to the pen)
--Dirt and poop usually stay out, because it's small and raised
--It does not take up much space inside the pen
--It can be tended from outside.
--Easy to store, if you quit using it for a while and might want to again later (just store the little plastic troughs, and grab a new bottle when needed.)

Bad points:
--If you dump out the old water (warm, stale) and refill with fresh water, it feels like it takes forever to do that, because the opening of the bottle is small.
--You probably need at least two, because of how much the bottle can hold and how many chickens can drink and once and whether they chase each other away from it.
--Not good in winter, because small things freeze so fast.
--You do need a 1" hole in the hardware cloth (even with brand new hardware cloth sometimes has holes, so you might not have to actually cut it.)
--If you don't drink pop in the right kind of bottles, you could try a water bottle, but the neck-size of the bottle does matter: so you might have to try several bottles to find one that's just right.

If you want to try that style--do not try to hang the whole thing inside the pen. Going through the hardware cloth is an important part of keeping the parts together, so it does not work to just hang it inside.
That looks really good! the issue is we are not allowed to 'cause damage' to the coop and run, per rental agreements. I"m pretty sure that cutting a hole in the hardware cloth counts as damage, and I'd probably want four of them to avoid fighting :(
 
It was put together with screws. I will measure it today.
Then you can unscrew it, if the measurements work out.
Or unscrew it and hold up there to see what might work best.

That looks really good! the issue is we are not allowed to 'cause damage' to the coop and run, per rental agreements. I"m pretty sure that cutting a hole in the hardware cloth counts as damage, and I'd probably want four of them to avoid fighting :(
Put it in the new run, which is your to modify.
2 would be good, 4 are not necessary.
 
Thanks for posting this, have wanted some of these for a long time,
used to have something similar for my caged birds,
finally pulled the trigger and ordered.
Used to use those on my parakeet when I was a little kid! You guys just brought me back 30+ years! Haha
 
I’m not sure what you can do about the coop, but as for taming the chickens, how I did it was I just sat in the coop quietly for a while and fed them. They Will eventually get used to you, and then you can try to hand feed them. Definitely don’t try to pick them up too much, or they will be very scared. If they are comfortably wasting out of your hand (might take a while) you can have a shot at gently patting them. If they are used to that, you can try to pick them up and pat them. Treats help A LOT!

Wait, so you are renting the chicken coop? I don’t quite understand. If the floor of the coop is mesh, you can put some cardboard on it, and then bedding (I use hemp, it’s great)
 
I’m not sure what you can do about the coop, but as for taming the chickens, how I did it was I just sat in the coop quietly for a while and fed them. They Will eventually get used to you, and then you can try to hand feed them. Definitely don’t try to pick them up too much, or they will be very scared. If they are comfortably wasting out of your hand (might take a while) you can have a shot at gently patting them. If they are used to that, you can try to pick them up and pat them. Treats help A LOT!

Wait, so you are renting the chicken coop? I don’t quite understand. If the floor of the coop is mesh, you can put some cardboard on it, and then bedding (I use hemp, it’s great)
I am renting the chickens and the coop as a package. It comes with feeder, waterer, bedding, and food as well. It is a terribly small coop and run, and the whole rental thing is a complete rip off. It costs $1400 for this pathetic setup. I didn't want to rent them, I wanted to buy chicks and build a coop, but here we are. They are ok with me touching them, and no longer run away when I try to nudge them away so I can do coop maintenance. I haven't had to pick any up, but I'm also unable to. I have been bringing lots of treats, so hopefully that will work!
 
I am renting the chickens and the coop as a package. It comes with feeder, waterer, bedding, and food as well. It is a terribly small coop and run, and the whole rental thing is a complete rip off. It costs $1400 for this pathetic setup. I didn't want to rent them, I wanted to buy chicks and build a coop, but here we are. They are ok with me touching them, and no longer run away when I try to nudge them away so I can do coop maintenance. I haven't had to pick any up, but I'm also unable to. I have been bringing lots of treats, so hopefully that will work!
I hadn’t no idea you could rent a coop! Let alone actual chickens... are you able to cancel it or buy the chickens permanently?
 
I hadn’t no idea you could rent a coop! Let alone actual chickens... are you able to cancel it or buy the chickens permanently?
We can't cancel during the rental, but after our 3 months is up, we can buy the chickens and get a discount on one of the farms tiny and overpriced coops. I'll be building a coop if we keep them, and hopefully adding more chicks in a few years.
 
So you can buy the chickens in 3 months, but can you cancel the coop? As is, in 3 months, if you buy the chickens?
Yep! I can give back the *ridiculously small* coop, and build a new one that's properly sized and also fits our needs. can you tell how much I can't wait for when this happens
 

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